2003 Global Infrastructure Report, page 3
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Historic Bridge Projects Rising Across Europe
Awe-inspiring, economy-stimulating bridges are continually in various stages of design or construction around the globe. In the information age, most large bridge projects have their own Web site. Perhaps even more remarkable are bridges so monumental they have their own welcome centers for tourists. Two such impressive spans are now moving toward completion in Europe with a third moving into final design stage. All achieve superlatives in their respective bridge styles.
One of the modern world's engineering marvels progresses in southern France. The Millau Viaduct, when it opens in early 2005, will connect the A75 highway from Paris to Barcelona at the point where it is currently interrupted by the Tarn River, which runs through a wide gorge between two plateaus. Builders are billing the viaduct as the world's highest bridge – or, as they say in France, "Le pont le plus haut du monde."
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After more than a decade of planning, construction began in 2001. The Eiffage Group of France is building the bridge from a design by U.K. engineering company Foster & Partners. The viaduct will help alleviate traffic bottlenecks on one of France's three primary north-south routes.
The Millau Viaduct is privately financed and will be a toll bridge, costing taxpayers nothing. Eiffage is building the 2.46 km. (1.5 mile), 300-million euro (US$339-million) structure in exchange for a 75-year toll concession. Millau Viaduct will carry a dual three-lane roadway suspended nearly 270 m. (886 ft.) above the Tarn. The road will be curved with a 3 percent grade to improve visibility for motorists.
Enerpac, a Milwaukee-based multinational firm specializing in hydraulic system integration for large-scale construction projects, is supplying the advanced hydraulic system to push the 27.3-m. (89.6-ft.) wide deck from both sides onto eight concrete piers.
As the viaduct has progressed, the construction site has become a tourist attraction, bringing in thousands to a welcome center to catch a glimpse of the spectacular project.
In Greece, work is rushing toward a Dec. 24, 2004, target date for completion of the Rion-Antirion Bridge, which will be the world's largest cable-stayed bridge with a suspended deck of 2,254 meters (7,395 ft.). Located in the western end of the Gulf of Corinth, the bridge will link the Greek mainland to the southern Greek region of Peloponnese. Currently the gulf is traversed via ferry.
Gefyra SA, a consortium of France-based VINCI and several Greek companies, is the lead contractor on the 800-million euro (US$902.6-million) project. Gefyra was formed in 1995 to enter into a contact with Greece for design and construction of the bridge. The company says the bridge will boost economic ties between Petra, Greece's third largest city, and the rural northwestern region of the country.
Another European bridge engineering marvel has been a concept for decades and will soon move into design stage. The Strait of Messina Bridge will be the longest single-span suspension bridge, stretching 3,300 meters (just over two miles) from Italy to Sicily.
The current schedule calls for construction on the 4.6-billion euro (US$5.1 billion) project to begin in the spring of 2005 and finish in 2011. The bridge's deck will be in three sections - one on each side for automobiles and a center section for a railway. Gefyra estimates the six years of construction will generate 40,000 jobs in the region. In April, Italy issued a legislative decree calling the project "an infrastructure of national interest" and confirmed the role of Stretto di Messina, the concessionaire, to accelerate the project.
The bridge will be built to withstand up to a 7.1 magnitude earthquake and winds with speeds higher than 216 km/hr (135 mph). The roadways will have a 9,000-vehicle-per-hour capacity while the double-track railway will accommodate up to 200 trains per day.
Stretto di Messina, which was incorporated in 1981 to build the project, says the bridge will help create a metropolitan area and stimulate the economy in the Mezzogiorno (southern Italy) region.
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Tollways, TREX and The Big Dig
Efforts to alleviate traffic congestion are in various stages around the U.S. One of the most expensive transportation undertakings in history, Boston's Big Dig, is finally nearing completion, while major projects with much shorter timetables are progressing in Colorado, Texas and Florida.
One of the largest toll roads under construction in the U.S. is taking shape around the Austin, Texas, metro area. Construction began on the $4-billion project in 2001 and will continue until 2007. To help finance it, the Texas Dept. of Transportation sold $2.2 billion in bonds in August 2002, the largest single tollway-related bond sale in the nation's history.
Central Texas Turnpike will run north and southeast of Austin as State Highway 130. It begins at I-35 north of Georgetown and runs south about 49 miles before intersecting with State Highway 183. Midway along the route, the road will branch to the west for 13 miles.
T-REX was first a dinosaur, and much later a rock group of the 1970s. Now it's the acronym for Denver's Transportation Expansion project.
Construction began in 2001 on the $1.67-billion project, which will add 17 miles of expansion and improvements to I-25 and I-225, plus 19 miles of light rail through the city's southeast metro area. As of April, the project is about one-third complete.
See the SITES Transportation and Economic Research Associates www.teraus.com
American Association of Port Authorities
Drewry Shipping Consultants Ltd.
Association of American Railroads
Louisiana Airport Authority
Millau Viaduct
A75 Highway
Enerpac
Eiffage Construction
Gefyra
Stretto di Messina
TREX
Big Dig
Central Texas Turnpike
I-4 Polk Project
Canadian National Railroad
RA Associates
Kallax Cargo Airport
Copenhagen Airports
URS Corporation
Airis Holdings LLC
Los Angeles World Airports |
The largest road/tunnel project in the U.S., Boston's Big Dig, continues to grind toward an estimated mid-2005 completion date. The $14.6-billion project, to replace the city's antiquated elevated highway system known as the Central Artery with an underground highway, has been under way since 1991 and is now more than 90-percent complete. Recent milestones include opening the I-90 extension through South Boston to the Ted Williams Tunnel and Logan Airport in January 2003. Northbound lanes of the underground highway opened in March. Current plans call for the southbound lanes to open in March 2004. Then, workers will begin demolishing the elevated stretch of I-93 southbound.
The I-4 improvement in Central Florida will widen what has become a bottleneck in recent years. The $224.5-million project is widening a 29.5-mile stretch of the Interstate through Polk County. Interchanges will be improved during the widening, which is an initial step toward ultimately creating a 10-lane roadway with a median for high-speed ground transportation.
CN, CSXI Agree On Memphis Intermodal
Canadian National Railroad (CN) and CSX International (CSXI) will begin construction this fall on a $25-million railroad-truck intermodal facility in the Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park in Memphis. The Memphis Super Terminal will feature five tracks with a total pad length of 20,000 ft. (6,096 m.), for the movement of trailers and containers on and off railcars. The terminal will have parking spots for 1,800 trailers or container chassis. CN and CSXI will select an operator for the terminal, which will replace a facility CN owns and CSXI uses. Construction begins in September and operations will begin a year later.
E. Hunter Harrison, CN's president and CEO, says the terminal "will enhance our ability to provide shippers the predictable and reliable movement of goods demanded by today's just-in-time logistics. The greenfield site offers more than 3,000 acres for industrial development with land available for expansion of the Super Terminal. (For more on trends in the logistics industry, turn to p. 537.)
"The Super Terminal will further secure Memphis' role as the distribution hub of the United States," said Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton. "The partnership that the city and the port commission have forged with CN and CSXI will improve intermodal service to our existing industries, attract more job-creating industry to our area, and spur industrial development."
The Tennessee Dept. of Transportation has committed to initiate the necessary roadway work to improve access to the Super Terminal to assure efficient operations. State discretionary funds will be used to modify the interchange of Interstate 55 and Mallory Road and to make improvements over Riverport Road, which constitutes a 3-mile (5-km.) corridor between the Super Terminal and I-55.
The Port of Memphis and Shelby County have invested $28 million in infrastructure improvements, such as roads and utilities, to prepare the Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park for development. Shelby County Port Commission Chairman Thomas Fisher says the site for the Super Terminal ranks as the largest urban site available for development as an intermodal terminal in the U.S.
"Our Super Terminal will serve as a magnet for development on our industrial park land adjacent to the terminal," Fisher says. "The close proximity and ready availability of top-flight intermodal transportation is a major attraction today when companies are demanding tightly scheduled and cost efficient logistics."
"CN and CSXI jointly designed the Memphis Super Terminal to be the premier intermodal terminal in the Memphis market," says Michael Ward, chairman and chief executive officer of CSX Corp.