Bridge Photo of the Day

Sichuan China's Bridges: Xiao Yu Dong (Fish Hole) Bridge (1)

2012-02-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

(31.185 Degrees, 103.765 Degrees) Xiao Yu Dong Bridge

XiaoYu Dong (Fish Hole) Bridge was a four span R.C. arch bridge with long approaches built in the 1980s. It took us a while to realize that the thrust fault was under the bridge and its offset compressed the superstructure, forcing the deck to slide over the top of the abutment.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Xiao Yu Dong (Fish Hole) Bridge (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Seven Span River Crossing North of Penzhou

2012-02-14T11:54:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (31.1218°N, 103.850°E) Seven Span River Crossing North of Penzhou

North of Pengzhou we drove past a seven span T-girder river crossing on pier walls. The approaches had settled about half a meter. No shear key damage. The People's Army was repairing the steel railing as wedrove by. The army did a good job of helping people in the isolated mountain villages after the disaster. There was a lot of building damage around this bridge.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Seven Span River Crossing North of Penzhou by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: South Nin River Bridge in Mianyang

2012-02-13T11:30:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (31.4502°N,104.7503°E) South Nin River Bridge

Another open spandrel arch bridge, this one in Mianyang. The South Nin River Bridge is a six-span arch bridgewith an additional slab bridge at the north end. During the earthquake, some of thehaunched girders atop the spandrel columns cracked at midspan, probablydue to excessive column movement.

Sichuan China's Bridges: South Nin River Bridge in Mianyang by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Fujiang River Bridge

2012-02-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (31.888 Degrees, 104.783 Degrees) Fujiang River Bridge

We crossed many new bridges in excellent shape along Route S105 on our way back from Nanba. Eventually we stopped at the Fujiang River, which was dammed by landslides during the earthquake. They had to evacuate all of the people downstream before they blew up the 'quake' dam, just in case anything went wrong. Across the Fujiang River was this long, open spandrel arch bridge. It seems like they often build the same piers on top of caissons in many rivers, and then choose the type of superstructure based on materials, availability of skilled labor, or on span length. But it's usually an arch.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Fujiang River Bridge by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

SIchuan China's Bridges: Nanba Bridges

2012-02-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (32.2095°N, 104.8292°E) Nanba Bridges

We eventually arrived in Nanba, 120 miles north of Chengdu where an existing three span arch river crossing had collapsed. Also, a ten span river crossing under construction had dropped most of its precast voided slab spans into the river and the two-column bents had been distorted. A temporary structure was being constructed by launching Bailey Bridges onto new RC pier walls when we arrived. In the meantime, vehicles were driving across the river on fill material laid over culverts.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Nanba Bridges by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Baiyun Bridge in Mianyung (3)

2012-02-10T19:59:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (31.4547°N, 104.7177°E) Baiyun Bridge

Mianyung is a very pretty city. In this photo you can see the dam upstream that turns this river into a lake. I went under the bridge to photograph the girders and immediately became covered in mud. A family made homeless by the earthquake came over and gave me a bucket of water to clean off in. However, I accidentally dropped my Leica camera in the bucket and had to use my cell phone to photograph bridges the rest of the trip.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Baiyun Bridge in Mianyung (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Baiyun Bridge in Mianyung (2)

2012-02-09T09:00:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (31.4547°N, 104.7177°E) Baiyun Bridge

A view from the deck of the Baiyun Bridge in Mianyung. Unlike some recent tied arches we've studied, this bridge has stiffened girders between the arches. Perhaps that's why there was little damage.

Mianyung was a nice town with little bridge damage but there must have been quite a bit of building damage since there were many relief camps around town.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Baiyun Bridge in Mianyung (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Baiyun Bridge in Mianyung (1)

2012-02-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (31.4547°N, 104.7177°E) Baiyun Bridge

Baiyun Bridge is a three span, simply supported, archbridge with prestressed tendons at the deck to keep the arch incompression. The arches are supported onfour-column bents and seat type abutments. After the earthquake, oil in the tendon ducts began to leak, suggestingthat the ducts had developed cracks during the earthquake (or possibly theanchorages were damaged). Also, there wassome spalling of the deck around the arches and cables. Mianyung was in the plains and far from the area of strong shaking.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Baiyun Bridge in Mianyung (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Kon Chi Doug Cho Bridge

2012-02-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (31.161°, 103.828°) Kon Chi Doug Cho Bridge

Driving north from Pengzhou we came to the KonChi Doug Cho Bridge, an 11 span closed spandrel arch on concrete pier walls that was built in 1970. Considering the many masonry arch bridges that collapsed during the Wenchuan earthquake, it was surprising to find this bridge still standing. All we could find was minor pounding damage at the railing and some approach settlement. It's interesting that these brittle arch spans sit on such sturdy concrete piers. Also that this medieval looking bridge was built in 1970.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Kon Chi Doug Cho Bridge by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Rainbow Bridge (德阳彩虹桥总体设计陈永刚) in Deyang

2012-02-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (31.129 Degrees, 104.299 Degrees) Rainbow Bridge

Driving through Deyang, I was suddenly surrounded by so many handsome bridges crossing the Jinghu River (dammed to form a lake) that I felt like the time I took an express train from London to Edinburgh and got a ten-second look at a dozen bridges as we sped through Newcastle on the Tyne.

I managed to capture this photo of a tall basket handle arch bridge. When I clicked on the bridge in Google Maps I found that it was the Rainbow Bridge (Caihong Qiao) designed by Chen Yonggang (德阳彩虹桥总体设计陈永刚).

Sichuan China's Bridges: Rainbow Bridge (德阳彩虹桥总体设计陈永刚) in Deyang by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan, China's Bridges: An Zhou Bridge (3)

2012-02-05T03:02:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (31.633 Degrees, 104.439 Degrees)

A view of the bridge members under the deck that had enough shear cracks that it was decided to reduce traffic onto the bridge. It's just south of the Beichuan, which was destroyed by landslides. The survivors had been evacuated and the area was closed to visitors (such as us).

Sichuan, China's Bridges: An Zhou Bridge (3) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License.

SIchuan, China's Bridges: An Zhou Bridge (2)

2012-02-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (31.633 Degrees, 104.439 Degrees) An Zhou Bridge

A look from the deck of the An Zhou Bridge. This landscape is pretty dramatic, with the Tibetan Pleateau rising in the distance, which unfortunately is the cause of the many earthquakes in the area. The government was spending a lot of money on infrastructure at the time of the earthquake and much of it had to be rebuilt.

Sichuan, China's Bridges: An Zhou Bridge (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License.

Sichuan, China's Bridges: An Zhou Bridge (1)

2012-02-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (31.632 Degrees, 104.439 Degrees) An Zhou Bridge

Traveling north from Chengdu, we looked at bridges damaged during the May 12, 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake. The An Zhou Bridge is about 100 miles north of Chengdu, in the foothills between the Sichuan Plain and the Tibetan Plateau. It's a pretty two span pony arch and the lack of cross-bracing on top may have allowed it to move enough to damage the stiffer elements under the deck. The bridge was partially closed, by putting railing partially across the deck, perhaps to limit the size of vehicles and their speed.

Sichuan, China's Bridges: An Zhou Bridge (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Wukuaishi Bridge

2012-02-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (30.654 Degrees, 104.045 Degrees) Wukuaishi Bridge

I finally found a steel girder bridge across the Jin River. It's a three span continuous stringer bridge on multicolumn bents.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Wukuaishi Bridge by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Anshun Bridge across Jin River (2)

2012-02-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

July 2011 (30.643 Degrees, 104.086 Degrees) Anshun Bridge

It's become more unusual to see a building on a bridge. However, in medieval Europe, there were so many shops crammed onto bridges, that they were in danger of falling into the water. I guess the shopkeepers knew that most people would have to cross the bridge and so it was a good place to do business. It must be the same in China. When the old Anshun Bridge was destroyed in a flood during the 1980s, the mayor eventually rebuilt the bridge to be as beautiful as possible and he put a restaurant on top to revitalize this area of town.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Anshun Bridge across Jin River (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Xin Nanmen Bridge across the Jin River (2)

2012-01-31T11:52:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (30.648 Degrees, 104.073 Degrees) Xin Nanmen Bridge

A view from the deck of the Xin Nanmen Bridge. The sidewalk is really high, which may be to protect pedestrians from errant vehicles. I would assume it's hollow as otherwise it would be a large dead load for the bridge to carry. I also wonder what are the decorative structures near the stairs? They resemble restroom facilities, which would be unusual for a bridge.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Xin Nanmen Bridge across the Jin River (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Xin Nanmen Bridge across the Jin River (1)

2012-01-30T08:30:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (30.648 Degrees, 104.073 Degrees) Xin Nanmen Bridge

Another deck arch bridge across the Jin River in Chengdu, China. I like how this arch has a solid slab instead of individual ribs. This allows the girders to be supported by pier walls instead of spandrel columns. I also like the shape or the exterior girders and the decorations on the barrier rails.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Xin Nanmen Bridge across the Jin River (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge in Chengdu (3)

2012-01-29T08:30:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (30.654 Degrees, 104.051 Degrees) Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge

A last view of the Quixia Park Bridge. The two parallel decks may have been poured separately, Note the treads to help the people climb the bridge. The high vertical alignment must help to quickly drain the bridge during storms. I must have taken these photos very early in the morning because the streets and bridges are almost empty.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge in Chengdu (3) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge in Chengdu (2)

2012-01-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (30.654 Degrees, 104.051 Degrees) Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge

A closer look at the Qixia Park Bridge. We can see that the arch is composed of three reinforced concrete ribs with diaphragms evenly spaced between them. There are actually two decks with a longitudinal joint between them. Each deck is supported by two concrete girders just inside the arch ribs.

I think a common style for an Asian arch bridge is to have the deck swoop upward on top of the arch at midspan. This may no longer be a choice for U.S. bridges that are built to ADA standards.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge in Chengdu (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge in Chengdu (1)

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (30.654 Degrees, 104.051 Degrees) Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge

Another deck arch bridge across the Jin River. The river is about 160 ft wide which makes it just right for single span arch bridges. The arch shape appears to be a segment of a very large radius circle. It is a wide pedestrian bridge with an ornate barrier rail. The arch and railing have been wrapped in wire and tiny lights. During the day the river presents a calm appearance but it must have a festive aspect at night. Chengdu is a very green and pretty city.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge in Chengdu (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Tong Chi Lu Bridge in Chengdu (2)

2012-01-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

(30.6508 Degrees, 104.054 Degrees) Tong Chi Lu Bridge

A closer view of the Tong Chi Lu Bridge over the Jiang River. This photo shows the hangers carried by the three arch ribs that support the floor beams, which hold up the bridge deck.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Tong Chi Lu Bridge in Chengdu (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Tong Chi Lu Bridge in Chengdu (1)

2012-01-25T08:30:00.000-08:00

(30.6508 Degrees, 104.054 Degrees) Tong Chi Lu Bridge

The next bridge across the Jin River is a single span bridge with three arch ribs that support the deck. Unlike the bridges we looked at in Miyagi, Japan, the bridges in China (like the ones in California) often carry watermains. We can clearly see brackets above the arches connected to the hangers that support the floor beams below the deck. Also note the architectural features on the ballusters that support the railings.

It seems like there are two kinds of through arch bridges: the kind where the arch ribs end at the deck and there's a tie to hold the arch in compression and then there are arch bridges where the ribs are anchored to foundations to keep the arch in compression.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Tong Chi Lu Bridge in Chengdu (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Jiangxi Street Bridges in Chengdu (2)

2012-01-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (30.649 Degrees, 104.058 Degrees) Jiangxi Street Bridges

A closer look at the Jiangxi Street Bridges. There are several arch ribs similar to girders supporting the deck on the lower bridge. Also, the engineer must have felt the need for additional struts to support the deck close to the abutments.

The taller bridge appears to swoop up and over the river before putting cars back down onto the street.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Jiangxi Street Bridges in Chengdu (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Jiangxi Street Bridges in Chengdu (1)

2012-01-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (30.649 Degrees, 104.058 Degrees) Jiangxi Street Bridges

As I continued my walk along the Jin River I saw some fisherman standing above a weir and a tall haunched girder viaduct and a single span deck-stiffened arch bridge just behind them. Also on the left there was a building shaped like a boat.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Jiangxi Street Bridges in Chengdu (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Renmin Road Bridge over the Jinjiang River

2012-01-22T13:43:00.000-08:00

July 2008 (30.649 Degrees, 104.064 Degrees) Renmin Road Bridge

Walking along the Jinjiang (Brocade River) in Chengdu, China early in the morning. This river was extremely polluted until the city cleaned it up about fifteen years ago. Now its banks are filled with people exercising, dancing, fishing, walking, etc.

The Renmin Road Bridge is a three span closed spandrel arch bridge over the river. The sharp cutwaters are decorated with dragons. Little alcoves above the cutwaters allow people to step out of the walkway to watch the river. The bridge is decorated with white ribbons on the arches and yellow flames on the overhangs, which gives it an intimidating appearance.

Arch bridges are popular in China. However, the Renmin Bridge (despite the dragons and the decorations) has a western appearance. Also, I can't decide if it's constructed of masonry or reinforced concrete or when it was built.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Renmin Road Bridge over the Jinjiang River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Bridge Photo of the Day

Sichuan China's Bridges: Xiao Yu Dong (Fish Hole) Bridge (1)

Sichuan China's Bridges: Seven Span River Crossing North of Penzhou

Sichuan China's Bridges: South Nin River Bridge in Mianyang

Sichuan China's Bridges: Fujiang River Bridge

SIchuan China's Bridges: Nanba Bridges

Sichuan China's Bridges: Baiyun Bridge in Mianyung (3)

Sichuan China's Bridges: Baiyun Bridge in Mianyung (2)

Sichuan China's Bridges: Baiyun Bridge in Mianyung (1)

Sichuan China's Bridges: Kon Chi Doug Cho Bridge

Sichuan China's Bridges: Rainbow Bridge (德阳彩虹桥 总体设计陈永刚) in Deyang

Sichuan, China's Bridges: An Zhou Bridge (3)

SIchuan, China's Bridges: An Zhou Bridge (2)

Sichuan, China's Bridges: An Zhou Bridge (1)

Sichuan China's Bridges: Wukuaishi Bridge

Sichuan China's Bridges: Anshun Bridge across Jin River (2)

Sichuan China's Bridges: Xin Nanmen Bridge across the Jin River (2)

Sichuan China's Bridges: Xin Nanmen Bridge across the Jin River (1)

Sichuan China's Bridges: Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge in Chengdu (3)

Sichuan China's Bridges: Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge in Chengdu (2)

Sichuan China's Bridges: Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge in Chengdu (1)

Sichuan China's Bridges: Tong Chi Lu Bridge in Chengdu (2)

Sichuan China's Bridges: Tong Chi Lu Bridge in Chengdu (1)

Sichuan China's Bridges: Jiangxi Street Bridges in Chengdu (2)

Sichuan China's Bridges: Jiangxi Street Bridges in Chengdu (1)

Sichuan China's Bridges: Renmin Road Bridge over the Jinjiang River

Sichuan China's Bridges: Rainbow Bridge (德阳彩虹桥总体设计陈永刚) in Deyang