Bridge builders spinning away merrily in California
The builders of the New Carquinez Bridge in California have completed another phase of the project: the spinning of the cables. The New Carquinez Bridge is being built by a consortium of HBG Constructors, Interbeton and Cleveland Bridge, but the construction of this fixed link over 1,000 metres long is in fact a global operation.
The cable spinning is the responsibility of Dorman Long Hordaland [DLH], a Norwegian specialist which was also involved on the Norwegian suspension bridges built by HBG Civiel Steel Structures. DLH is a subsidiary of Cleveland Bridge. The steel cables for the Carquinez Bridge come from the United Kingdom, as do various other components. The 24 steel sections of the bridge deck were produced in Japan, and various other parts, such as handrails, have been shipped to the bay not far from San Francisco from elsewhere in America.
Within the consortium, Interbeton was mainly involved with the construction of the foundations for the two pylons. After spinning, the cables have to be compacted, and then the cable bands and the suspenders will be installed. The cable bands hold the cables at the right spacing and also form the attachments for the suspenders, the vertical cables from which the sections of the bridge deck hang. Suspension of the first section is scheduled for February 2003. Nine months later the bridge will be opened to traffic.