When was akashi kaikyo bridge built

Japan experiences some of the worst weather on the planet. Gale winds whip through the Strait. Rain pours down at a rate of 57 inches per year. Hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes rattle and thrash the island almost annually. How did the Japanese engineers get around these problems? They supported their bridge with a truss , or complex network of triangular braces, beneath the roadway. The primary tower is made of steel, and the shaft has a cruciform cross section which is insensitive to wind-induced oscillation.

However, tuned mass damper is installed within the shafts to suppress oscillation is anticipated that during erection of the tower, and even at the stage of completing the bridge.

A shaft of the tower is divided into 30 levels and almost all levels are composed of 3 blocks. Each block was made in factories and transported to the site and then hoisted by crane climbing tower that had a lifting capacity of tons. Articulating high tension bolts were used to connect field. A foundation of the main tower weight of , tn weighing bridge from the main towers footbed transmitted. The footbed, 60 meters under water, was excavated by a dredger bucket.

To overcome the difficult conditions of the strait, including deepwater strong currents and waves that caused vibration in the dredger during excavation, high-tech devices are used, such as Remotely Operated Vehicle System.

The circular-shaped drawer has no directional property, and thus makes them more stable and easier to handle in strong currents of the Strait. The construction of the stiffening beam, by the method of flat blocks, begins in the towers and main anchors, where a floating crane was used to install six cell blocks in the towers, and 8 anchors.

The 4km of the pathway for vehicles that crosses the Akashi Strait is divided into 6 lanes. Is suspended and supported by the cables cover is held by its own weight, resulting in thousands of steel beams positioned to form a triangular grid. It took 15 months to put the beam sections. As added reinforcement, below deck, a vertical stabilizer with a form like the fin of a plane that runs through the center of the bridge and balances the pressure, both below and above deck.

A steel mesh was placed in the center and side rails to allow passage of the wind. The main material used in the bridge superstructure is steel.

Has also been used reinforced concrete. The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge-has a total of 1, light fixtures: for the main cables, for the main towers, beams and to for the anchors. In the main cables are placed three high capacity lighting tubes, red, green and blue. The RGB model and computer technology contribute in making a wide variety of combinations.

A minimum of 28 patterns are used for special occasions such as regional public holidays or commemorations. The great earthquake of Magnitude 7. At that time, Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge was under construction, in other words, both the towers were completed and main cables of the Bridge were being built.

Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge and residential area in Kobe just after the Earthquake. After the Earthquake, comprehensive investigation was done. As a result of the survey, it was observed that the span lengths were changed by the Earthquake. However, it was confirmed that the foundations of the Bridge were moved with the bearing ground without sliding between the foundations and the ground. After several analyses considering such conditions, it was clear that the influence of the moving was minimal and the construction work was able to continue as it is.

The bridge is illuminated with approximately 1, lights, which include 1, on the main cables, on the main towers, on the girders and on the anchorages. Three high light discharge tubes of red, green and blue colours were set up on the main cables. The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge is installed with five wind vanes and anemometers, one accelerometer, one seismograph, two velocity meters, and three global positioning system GPS observation machines for data collection.

It is the first to have a permanently installed GPS for monitoring of activity on the suspension bridges. Construction of the bridge began in May and took nearly ten years to complete. The foundation depth of the bridge is equivalent to that of a storey apartment. Nearly ,t of steel and 1. More than contractors were involved in the construction of the bridge. The main contractor was Honshu Shikoku Bridge Authority.

The cost was endured by the Honshu Shikoku Bridge Authority, the main contractor of the bridge. The high cost of construction was due to the seismic design elements that had to be incorporated considering the seismic activity in the region.

Seismic design features of the bridge are quite different and unique when compared to bridges constructed in the past. The substructure is extremely large.