Rio-Antirio bridge
Encyclopedia
The Rion-Antirion bridge , officially the Charilaos Trikoupis
bridge after the statesman who first envisaged it, is the world's longest multi-span cable-stayed bridge
. It crosses the Gulf of Corinth
near Patras
, linking the town of Rion on the Peloponnese
to Antirion on mainland Greece
.
In 2011, the bridge was featured in an episode of Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections
.
was a 19th century Greek
prime minister
, and suggested the idea of building a bridge between Rion and Antirion; however, the endeavour was too expensive at the time, when Greece was trying to get a late foot into the Industrial Revolution
.
, which could previously be reached only by ferry or via the isthmus of Corinth
at its extreme east end. Its width is 28 m (92 ft) — it has two vehicle lanes per direction, an emergency lane and a pedestrian walkway. Its five-span four-pylon cable-stayed portion of length 2252 m (7,388 ft) is the world's second longest cable-stayed deck; only the deck of the Millau Viaduct
is longer at 2460 m (8,071 ft). However, as the latter is also supported by bearings at the pylons apart from cable stays, the Rion-Antirion bridge deck might be considered the longest cable-stayed "suspended" deck.
This bridge is widely considered to be an engineering masterpiece owing to several solutions applied to span the difficult site. These difficulties include deep water, insecure materials for foundations, seismic
activity, the probability of tsunami
s, and the expansion of the Gulf of Corinth
due to plate tectonics
.
group Vinci, and which includes the Greek companies Hellenic Technodomiki-TEV, J&P-Avax, Athena, Proodeftiki and Pantechniki. The consortium operates the bridge under concession under its Γ.Ε.Φ.Υ.Ρ.Α. or ΓαλλοΕλληνικός Φορέας Υπερθαλάσσιας ζεύξης Ρίου- Αντιρίου (G.E.F.Y.R.A., Greek for "bridge", French-Greek Carrier of Oversea Connection of Rion-Antirion) subsidiary. The lead architect was Berdj Mikaelian. Site preparation and dredging began in July 1998, and construction of the massive supporting pylons in 2000. With these complete in 2003, work began on the traffic decks and supporting cables. On May 21, 2004, the main construction was completed; only equipment (sidewalks, railings, etc.) and waterproofing remained to be installed.
The bridge was finally inaugurated on August 7, 2004, a week before the opening of the 2004 Summer Olympics
in Athens
. Olympic torchbearers were the first to officially cross its length. One of them was Otto Rehhagel
, the German football
coach who won the Euro 2004 Championships for Greece
. Another was Costas Laliotis, the former Minister of Public Works during whose term the project had begun.
The total cost of the bridge was about € 630,000,000, funded by Greek state funds, the consortium and loans by the European Investment Bank
. It was finished ahead of its original schedule, which had foreseen completion between September and November 2004, and within budget.
s to absorb movement; too rigid a connection would cause the bridge structure to fail in the event of an earthquake. It was also important that the bridge not have too much lateral leeway either so as not to damage the piers. There is provision for the gradual expansion of the strait over the bridge's lifetime.
The bridge received the 2006 Outstanding Structure Award
from the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering
.
One specific element of the system is the ability to detect and specifically treat Earthquake events.
Charilaos Trikoupis
Charilaos Trikoupis was a Greek politician who served as a Prime Minister of Greece seven times from 1875 until 1895....
bridge after the statesman who first envisaged it, is the world's longest multi-span 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....
. It crosses the Gulf of Corinth
Gulf of Corinth
The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece...
near Patras
Patras
Patras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...
, linking the town of Rion on the Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
to Antirion on mainland Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
In 2011, the bridge was featured in an episode of Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections
Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections
Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections is a documentary series originally broadcast on the National Geographic Channel, and later on BBC2. It is presented by Richard Hammond, and looks at how engineers and designers use historic inventions and clues from the natural world in ingenious ways to...
.
Name
Its official name is the Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge. Charilaos TrikoupisCharilaos Trikoupis
Charilaos Trikoupis was a Greek politician who served as a Prime Minister of Greece seven times from 1875 until 1895....
was a 19th century Greek
Politics of Greece
The Politics of Greece takes place in a large parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Greece is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Hellenic Parliament...
prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
, and suggested the idea of building a bridge between Rion and Antirion; however, the endeavour was too expensive at the time, when Greece was trying to get a late foot into the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
.
Location
The 2880 m (9,449 ft) long bridge dramatically improves access to and from the PeloponnesePeloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
, which could previously be reached only by ferry or via the isthmus of Corinth
Isthmus of Corinth
The Isthmus of Corinth is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the rest of the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth. The word "isthmus" comes from the Ancient Greek word for "neck" and refers to the narrowness of the land. The Isthmus was known in the ancient...
at its extreme east end. Its width is 28 m (92 ft) — it has two vehicle lanes per direction, an emergency lane and a pedestrian walkway. Its five-span four-pylon cable-stayed portion of length 2252 m (7,388 ft) is the world's second longest cable-stayed deck; only the deck of the Millau Viaduct
Millau Viaduct
The Millau Viaduct is a cable-stayed road-bridge that spans the valley of the river Tarn near Millau in southern France. Designed by the British architect Norman Foster and French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux, it is the tallest bridge in the world, with one mast's summit at . It is the...
is longer at 2460 m (8,071 ft). However, as the latter is also supported by bearings at the pylons apart from cable stays, the Rion-Antirion bridge deck might be considered the longest cable-stayed "suspended" deck.
This bridge is widely considered to be an engineering masterpiece owing to several solutions applied to span the difficult site. These difficulties include deep water, insecure materials for foundations, seismic
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
activity, the probability of tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
s, and the expansion of the Gulf of Corinth
Gulf of Corinth
The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece...
due to plate tectonics
Plate tectonics
Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere...
.
Construction
The bridge was planned in the mid-1990s and was built by a French-Greek consortium led by the FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
group Vinci, and which includes the Greek companies Hellenic Technodomiki-TEV, J&P-Avax, Athena, Proodeftiki and Pantechniki. The consortium operates the bridge under concession under its Γ.Ε.Φ.Υ.Ρ.Α. or ΓαλλοΕλληνικός Φορέας Υπερθαλάσσιας ζεύξης Ρίου- Αντιρίου (G.E.F.Y.R.A., Greek for "bridge", French-Greek Carrier of Oversea Connection of Rion-Antirion) subsidiary. The lead architect was Berdj Mikaelian. Site preparation and dredging began in July 1998, and construction of the massive supporting pylons in 2000. With these complete in 2003, work began on the traffic decks and supporting cables. On May 21, 2004, the main construction was completed; only equipment (sidewalks, railings, etc.) and waterproofing remained to be installed.
The bridge was finally inaugurated on August 7, 2004, a week before the opening of the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. Olympic torchbearers were the first to officially cross its length. One of them was Otto Rehhagel
Otto Rehhagel
Otto Rehhagel is a German football coach and former football player. Along with Helmut Schön, Ottmar Hitzfeld, Udo Lattek and Hennes Weisweiler, he is considered one of the most successful German managers....
, the German football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
coach who won the Euro 2004 Championships for Greece
Greece national football team
The Greece national football team represents Greece in association football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece's home ground is Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus and their head coach is Fernando Santos...
. Another was Costas Laliotis, the former Minister of Public Works during whose term the project had begun.
The total cost of the bridge was about € 630,000,000, funded by Greek state funds, the consortium and loans by the European Investment Bank
European Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank is the European Union's long-term lending institution established in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome. A policy-driven bank, the EIB supports the EU’s priority objectives, especially European integration and the development of economically weak regions...
. It was finished ahead of its original schedule, which had foreseen completion between September and November 2004, and within budget.
Engineering Feats
Due to the peculiar conditions of the straits, several unique engineering problems needed to be considered. The water depth reaches 65 m, the seabed is mostly of loose sediment, the seismic activity and possibility of tectonic movement is significant, and the Gulf of Corinth is expanding at a rate of about 30 mm a year. For these reasons, special construction techniques were applied. The piers are not buried into the seabed, but rather rest on a bed of gravel which was meticulously leveled to an even surface (a difficult endeavor at this depth). During an earthquake, the piers should be allowed to move laterally on the seabed with the gravel bed absorbing the energy. The bridge parts are connected to the pylons using jacks and damperShock absorber
A shock absorber is a mechanical device designed to smooth out or damp shock impulse, and dissipate kinetic energy. It is a type of dashpot.-Nomenclature:...
s to absorb movement; too rigid a connection would cause the bridge structure to fail in the event of an earthquake. It was also important that the bridge not have too much lateral leeway either so as not to damage the piers. There is provision for the gradual expansion of the strait over the bridge's lifetime.
The bridge received the 2006 Outstanding Structure Award
Outstanding Structure Award
The Outstanding Structure Award is an award presented by the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering to the Engineer, Architect, Contractor, and the Owner in recognition of the most remarkable, innovative, creative or otherwise stimulating structure completed within the last...
from the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering
International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering
The International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering is a non-profit organisation with mission to promote the exchange of knowledge and to advance the practice of structural engineering worldwide in the service of the profession and society, taking into consideration technical,...
.
Trouble with cable links
On 28 January 2005, six months after the opening of the bridge, one of the cable links of the bridge snapped from the top of the M3 pylon and came crashing down on the deck. Traffic was immediately halted. The first investigation claimed that a fire had broken out on the top of the M3 pylon, after a lightning strike in one of the cables. The cable was immediately restored and the bridge re-opened.Monitoring System
A structural Health monitoring system was installed during construction on the bridge. It is still in place today and provides a 24/7 surveillance of the structure. The system has more than 100 sensors, including:- 3D accelerometers on the deck, pylons, stay cables, and on the ground to characterize wind movements and seismic tremors
- Strain gauges and load cells on the stay cables and their gussets
- Displacement sensors on the expansion joints to measure the thermal expansion of the deck
- Water-level sensors on the pylon bases to detect infiltration
- Temperature sensors in the deck to detect freezing conditions
- Linear variable differential transducer (LVDT) sensors on the stay cables to measure movement
- Load cells on the restrainers for recalibration in the event of an earthquake
- Two weather stations to measure wind intensity, direction, air temperature, and relative humidity
One specific element of the system is the ability to detect and specifically treat Earthquake events.
External links
- Articles showing articulations Website in French
- Aerial Photos from Rio–Antirrio bridge
- Gefyra S.A. - official site
- Video of the bridge taken from cruise ship
- Timelapse video of the bridge during Earth Hour 2011 Timelapse showing how the bridge switched off & on the lights during Earth Hour 2011.