Kwang An Grand Bridge
TYLin provided construction engineering services for the Kwang An Grand Bridge in Busan, Korea.
The construction of the Kwang An Grand Bridge was critical to the economic growth of Busan, South Korea’s largest port city. This project, along with construction of a high-speed rail link to Seoul and a new airport runway, has helped the city bring major corporations to the area and secure such high-profile sporting events as the Asian Games and World Cup Soccer.
The Kwang An Grand Bridge is a double-deck structure that is 2,952 feet (900 meters) long. The structure has a center span of 1,630 feet (500 meters) and two side spans of 656 feet (200 meters) each.
TYLin engineers used innovative, time-saving construction techniques to complete the bridge. Built in three large pieces, the towers were lifted into place by floating cranes. The stiffening truss, which consisted of approximately 47 prefabricated truss blocks, was lifted from barges using gantries supported on cables. This vertical lift method is typically reserved for box girder bridges and had never been applied to a stiffening truss suspension bridge before.
Project Highlights:
- • The bridge carries eight lanes of vehicular traffic.
- • The lower deck was designed to accommodate a future railway.
- • At the time of completion, the Kwang An Grand Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in South Korea.