Stonecutters Bridge
Encyclopedia
Stonecutters Bridge is a high level cable-stayed bridge
which spans the Rambler Channel
in Hong Kong
, connecting Nam Wan Kok
, Tsing Yi Island and Stonecutters Island
. The bridge deck was completed on 7 April 2009, making this the second longest cable-stayed span in the world, and opened to traffic on 20 December 2009.
The approaches at Tsing Yi and Stonecutters Island are located near Container Terminal 9
and Container Terminal 8, respectively. Construction commenced on 27 April 2004 by Maeda
–Hitachi–Yokogawa–Hsin Chong
Joint Venture
. It cost HK$
2.76 billion. It was reported to be over budget.
The bridge is part of Hong Kong's Route 8
, connecting Sha Tin
, Cheung Sha Wan
, Tsing Yi Island, Ma Wan
and Lantau Island
. Other major constructions along the route are Nam Wan Tunnel
(completed in 2008), Eagle's Nest Tunnel
(completed in 2008), Sha Tin Heights Tunnel
(completed in 2008), Tsing Ma Bridge
(completed in 1997) and Kap Shui Mun Bridge
(completed in 1997).
As a result of the interesting challenges and extreme difficulty in constructing this bridge, the project was featured on two of the Discovery Channel
's Extreme Engineering
series on November 1, 2006 and April 27, 2009.
The Stonecutters Bridge won the 2010 Supreme Award at the annual Structural Awards
presented by the Institution of Structural Engineers
, United Kingdom.
With a main span of 1,018 m, Stonecutters Bridge has the second-longest cable-stayed span in the world, after the Sutong Bridge.
It was built at a cost of HK$2.76 billion (US$356 million).
The design was selected as the Reference Scheme for the further design development. A group led by Arup
with COWI A/S
as main sub-consultant has carried out the further design development of the Reference Scheme and the detailed design that followed.
The concept is for a cable-stayed bridge with a twin aerodynamic deck suspended from two 295m-high single pole towers. These towers will have bases measuring 24m x 18m tapering to 7m diameter at the top, and the deck will allow a navigation clearance of 73.5m over the full entrance to the Container Port.
The two towers will be in concrete until level +175m and in composite construction consisting of an inner concrete ring with a stainless steel skin for the top 120m. The original concept had a conventional steel structure above level +175m but Arup found that this configuration would be too lively and lead to unacceptable vibrations of the stay cables. Using a heavier composite section instead of a pure steel structure solved this problem. For reasons of durability and to enhance the appearance, further studies concluded that the tower skin should be fabricated from a duplex stainless steel (grade 1.4462 to BSEN10088) with a shot peened surface finish. The deck itself will be made of steel in the main span and of concrete in the side spans.
The tower foundations will be located within 10m of the seawall on either side of the Rambler Channel, close to the back-up land next to CT8 and CT9. Their proximity to the channel necessitated ship impact testing and modeling. Geotechnical centrifuge testing was conducted using a 1:200 scale model of a vessel bow section and seawall within a container.
Walk for Millions was held 15 November 2009 to allow the public to walk along Stonecutters Bridge and East Tsing Yi Viaduct and through Nam Wan Tunnel
. Over 30,000 participants took part, raising more than HK$10 million for the charity's Children and Youth Services.
Cable-stayed bridge
A cable-stayed bridge is a bridge that consists of one or more columns , with cables supporting the bridge deck....
which spans the Rambler Channel
Rambler Channel
Rambler Channel is a body of water in Hong Kong that separates Tsing Yi Island from mainland Kowloon Peninsula, namely Tsuen Wan and Kwai Chung in the New Territories...
in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, connecting Nam Wan Kok
Nam Wan Kok
Nam Wan Kok is a cape in the southeast corner of Tsing Yi Island. It coast was reclaimed and became Container Terminal 9. The Nam Wan Tunnel and Stonecutters Bridge meet there....
, Tsing Yi Island and Stonecutters Island
Stonecutters Island
Stonecutters Island or Ngong Shuen Chau is a former island in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong. Following land reclamation, it is now annexed to the Kowloon peninsula.-Fauna:...
. The bridge deck was completed on 7 April 2009, making this the second longest cable-stayed span in the world, and opened to traffic on 20 December 2009.
The approaches at Tsing Yi and Stonecutters Island are located near Container Terminal 9
Container Terminal 9
Container Terminal 9 or CT9 is the 9th container terminal in Hong Kong. It is located on Tsing Yi Island, facing Rambler Channel. It was the part of Kwai Tsing Container Terminals. The total site area is 1.5 square kilometres and the terminal itself comprises an area 0.68 km² and as long as...
and Container Terminal 8, respectively. Construction commenced on 27 April 2004 by Maeda
Maeda Corporation
is a Japanese corporation which was established in 1919. Its main areas of business are building construction and civil engineering.Maeda has domestic offices in eleven Japanese cities, and overseas offices in Thailand, Hong Kong, and India.-History:...
–Hitachi–Yokogawa–Hsin Chong
Hsin Chong
Hsin Chong Construction Group Limited or simply Hsin Chong is a major construction company in Hong Kong.-History:It was established in 1939 in Hong Kong as Hsin Chong & Company by Kan-Nee Godfrey Yeh. Yeh was a well established builder in Shanghai before moving to Hong Kong in 1937. His son...
Joint Venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
. It cost HK$
Hong Kong dollar
The Hong Kong dollar is the currency of the jurisdiction. It is the eighth most traded currency in the world. In English, it is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively HK$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
2.76 billion. It was reported to be over budget.
The bridge is part of Hong Kong's Route 8
Route 8 (Hong Kong)
Route 8 of Hong Kong is an 3-lane carriageway dual 3-lane highway that links Lantau Island, Tsing Yi Island, Cheung Sha Wan in West Kowloon, and Sha Tin in the Northeast New Territories of Hong Kong. It is a combination of many sections....
, connecting Sha Tin
Sha Tin
Sha Tin, also spelled Shatin, is an area around the Shing Mun River in the New Territories of Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District.-Geography:...
, Cheung Sha Wan
Cheung Sha Wan
Cheung Sha Wan is an area between Lai Chi Kok and Sham Shui Po in New Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is mainly residential to the north and south, with an industrial area in between. Administratively it is part of Sham Shui Po District. The Sham Shui Po District includes Mei Foo as well as Lai Chi...
, Tsing Yi Island, Ma Wan
Ma Wan
Ma Wan is an island of Hong Kong, located between Lantau Island and Tsing Yi Island, with an area of 0.97 km². Administratively, it is part of Tsuen Wan District....
and Lantau Island
Lantau Island
Lantau Island , based on the old local name of Lantau Peak , is the largest island in Hong Kong, located at the mouth of the Pearl River. Administratively, most of Lantau Island is part of the Islands District of Hong Kong...
. Other major constructions along the route are Nam Wan Tunnel
Nam Wan Tunnel
Nam Wan Tunnel is a tunnel in Hong Kong which has been completed and is scheduled for opening to traffic on 20 December 2009, along with the West Tsing Yi Viaduct, East Tsing Yi Viaduct and Stonecutters Bridge...
(completed in 2008), Eagle's Nest Tunnel
Eagle's Nest Tunnel
Eagle's Nest Tunnel is the newest tunnel in Hong Kong. Officially opened on 21 March 2008, it connects Cheung Sha Wan and Sha Tin Valley through Eagle's Nest in Hong Kong in anticipation of future traffic demands generated by development in the northeast New Territories...
(completed in 2008), Sha Tin Heights Tunnel
Sha Tin Heights Tunnel
Sha Tin Heights Tunnel is the newest tunnel in Hong Kong. It is part of Route 8. The tunnel spanned from a toll plaza in Sha Tin Valley through Sha Tin Heights to Tai Wai. The toll plaza is also connected to Eagle's Nest Tunnel, a tunnel to Cheung Sha Wan and Lai Chi Kok. The Tai Wai entrance...
(completed in 2008), Tsing Ma Bridge
Tsing Ma Bridge
The Tsing Ma Bridge is a bridge in Hong Kong. It is the world's seventh-longest span suspension bridge, and was the second longest at time of completion. The bridge was named after two of the islands at its ends, namely Tsing Yi and Ma Wan . It has two decks and carries both road and rail...
(completed in 1997) and Kap Shui Mun Bridge
Kap Shui Mun Bridge
The Kap Shui Mun Bridge in Hong Kong is one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in the world that transports both road and railway traffic, with the upper deck for motor vehicles, and the lower deck for both vehicles and the MTR. It has a main span of 430 metres and an overall length of 750 metres...
(completed in 1997).
As a result of the interesting challenges and extreme difficulty in constructing this bridge, the project was featured on two of the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
's Extreme Engineering
Extreme Engineering
Extreme Engineering is a documentary television series that airs on the Discovery Channel and the Science Channel. The program features futuristic and ongoing engineering projects. As of April 2011, the show is airing its ninth season. Danny Forster first hosted the series in season 4 and has been...
series on November 1, 2006 and April 27, 2009.
The Stonecutters Bridge won the 2010 Supreme Award at the annual Structural Awards
Structural Awards
The Institution of Structural Engineers' Structural Awards have been awarded for the structural design of buildings and infrastructure since 1968...
presented by the Institution of Structural Engineers
Institution of Structural Engineers
The Institution of Structural Engineers is a professional body for structural engineering based in the United Kingdom. It has 27,000 members in 105 countries. The Institution provides professional accreditation for structural engineers...
, United Kingdom.
Structure
The bridge spans 1.6 km, with 3 lanes in each direction. It is a cable-stayed bridge with two bridge towers, one on Tsing Yi Island and the other on Stonecutters Island.With a main span of 1,018 m, Stonecutters Bridge has the second-longest cable-stayed span in the world, after the Sutong Bridge.
It was built at a cost of HK$2.76 billion (US$356 million).
Bridge design
The design concept for the bridge was procured by Highways Department in Hong Kong through an international design competition. The winning scheme was the one presented by a group consisting of bridge architect Dissing+Weitling together with engineering firms Halcrow Group, Flint & Neill Partnership and Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute.The design was selected as the Reference Scheme for the further design development. A group led by Arup
Arup
Arup is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom which provides engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of the built environment. The firm is present in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, East Asia, Europe and the...
with COWI A/S
COWI A/S
COWI A/S is an international consulting group, specialising in engineering, environmental science and economics, based in Lyngby, Denmark.It has been involved in more than 50,000 projects in 175 countries...
as main sub-consultant has carried out the further design development of the Reference Scheme and the detailed design that followed.
The concept is for a cable-stayed bridge with a twin aerodynamic deck suspended from two 295m-high single pole towers. These towers will have bases measuring 24m x 18m tapering to 7m diameter at the top, and the deck will allow a navigation clearance of 73.5m over the full entrance to the Container Port.
The two towers will be in concrete until level +175m and in composite construction consisting of an inner concrete ring with a stainless steel skin for the top 120m. The original concept had a conventional steel structure above level +175m but Arup found that this configuration would be too lively and lead to unacceptable vibrations of the stay cables. Using a heavier composite section instead of a pure steel structure solved this problem. For reasons of durability and to enhance the appearance, further studies concluded that the tower skin should be fabricated from a duplex stainless steel (grade 1.4462 to BSEN10088) with a shot peened surface finish. The deck itself will be made of steel in the main span and of concrete in the side spans.
The tower foundations will be located within 10m of the seawall on either side of the Rambler Channel, close to the back-up land next to CT8 and CT9. Their proximity to the channel necessitated ship impact testing and modeling. Geotechnical centrifuge testing was conducted using a 1:200 scale model of a vessel bow section and seawall within a container.
Wind studies
The Hong Kong region is susceptible to very strong typhoon winds, a fact that is being taken into account in the design of the bridge. In October 2002 a 50m mast was erected at the site to measure the speed, direction and turbulence of winds in the area. Readings, which continued until January 2004, were transmitted in real-time to an offsite location for further analysis. In particular, the stability of the 509m-long cantilevers during construction required special consideration in the design.Walk for millions
Prior to its formal commissioning, a Community ChestCommunity Chest
Community Chest may refer to any of the following:*The Community Chest of Hong Kong*The Community Chest of Singapore*Community Chest , a forerunner of the United Way of America...
Walk for Millions was held 15 November 2009 to allow the public to walk along Stonecutters Bridge and East Tsing Yi Viaduct and through Nam Wan Tunnel
Nam Wan Tunnel
Nam Wan Tunnel is a tunnel in Hong Kong which has been completed and is scheduled for opening to traffic on 20 December 2009, along with the West Tsing Yi Viaduct, East Tsing Yi Viaduct and Stonecutters Bridge...
. Over 30,000 participants took part, raising more than HK$10 million for the charity's Children and Youth Services.