Ganter bridge
Encyclopedia
Ganter Bridge is a reinforced concrete
road bridge which is currently the longest spanning bridge in Switzerland
, located along the Simplon Pass
road in the canton of Valais
about 10 km (6 mi) south of Brig
. It was designed by renowned Swiss civil engineer
Christian Menn
and completed in 1980. The overall length is 678 m (2,224 ft) with a main span of 174 m (571 ft), and a maximum tower height of 150 m (492 ft).
The bridge's form consists of an S-curve high above the Ganter River, at an elevation of about 1450 m (4,757.2 ft) above sea level. Two main towers and five smaller piers support a total of eight spans with lengths of 35 m (115 ft), 50 m (164 ft), 80 m (262 ft), 127 m (417 ft), 174 m (571 ft), 127 m (417 ft), 50 m (164 ft), and 35 m (115 ft). The longest span between the two towers is straight, while the remaining spans lie along curves with a radius of 200 m (656 ft).
Its unique design, combining elements of a cable-stayed bridge
and a prestressed cantilever
hollow-box girder bridge
, with triangular concrete walls above the roadway which contain the prestressed cable-stays, has been awarded many prizes. This hybrid type of cable-stayed and girder bridge is sometimes referred to as an extradosed bridge
.
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
road bridge which is currently the longest spanning bridge in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, located along the Simplon Pass
Simplon Pass
Simplon Pass is a high mountain pass between the Pennine Alps and the Lepontine Alps in Switzerland. It connects Brig in the canton of Valais with Domodossola in Piedmont . The pass itself and the villages on each side of it, such as Gondo, are in Switzerland...
road in the canton of Valais
Valais
The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
about 10 km (6 mi) south of Brig
Brig, Switzerland
Brig, officially Brig-Glis is a municipality in the district of Brig in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.The current municipality was formed in 1972 through the merger of Brig , Brigerbad and Glis.-History:...
. It was designed by renowned Swiss civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
Christian Menn
Christian Menn
Christian Menn is a bridge designer from Switzerland. He owned his own Engineering Company in Chur, Switzerland from 1957-1971. From 1971 until his retirement in 1992 he became a professor of Structural Engineering at ETH Zurich specializing in Bridge design...
and completed in 1980. The overall length is 678 m (2,224 ft) with a main span of 174 m (571 ft), and a maximum tower height of 150 m (492 ft).
The bridge's form consists of an S-curve high above the Ganter River, at an elevation of about 1450 m (4,757.2 ft) above sea level. Two main towers and five smaller piers support a total of eight spans with lengths of 35 m (115 ft), 50 m (164 ft), 80 m (262 ft), 127 m (417 ft), 174 m (571 ft), 127 m (417 ft), 50 m (164 ft), and 35 m (115 ft). The longest span between the two towers is straight, while the remaining spans lie along curves with a radius of 200 m (656 ft).
Its unique design, combining elements of a cable-stayed bridge
Cable-stayed bridge
A cable-stayed bridge is a bridge that consists of one or more columns , with cables supporting the bridge deck....
and a prestressed cantilever
Cantilever bridge
A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using cantilevers, structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end. For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beams; however, large cantilever bridges designed to handle road or rail traffic use trusses built from...
hollow-box girder bridge
Girder bridge
A girder bridge, in general, is a bridge built of girders placed on bridge abutments and foundation piers. In turn, a bridge deck is built on top of the girders in order to carry traffic. There are several different subtypes of girder bridges:...
, with triangular concrete walls above the roadway which contain the prestressed cable-stays, has been awarded many prizes. This hybrid type of cable-stayed and girder bridge is sometimes referred to as an extradosed bridge
Extradosed bridge
An extradosed bridge employs a structure that is frequently described as a cross between a girder bridge and a cable-stayed bridge. The name comes from the French word extradossé, which is derived from the word extrados. Extrados is defined as the exterior curve of an arch.This description is...
.