Erection Techniques for Steel Box Girders of Wujiagang Changjiang River Bridge in Yichang

The main bridge of Wujiagang Changjiang River Bridge in Yichang is a two-tower suspension bridge with a main span of 1 160 m. The stiffening girder consists of integral streamlined flat steel box girders measuring 34.7 m wide, totally 77 segments. The steel box girder segments were erected by the balanced cantilever assembly method, symmetrically progressed on the two river shores. Limited by the topographical conditions and variation of water level, the seven segments at each tower could not be directly shipped to the specific locations for erection, as a result, they were stored in a specific place on site prior to erection. The remaining steel box girder segments were directly shipped to the specified locations and vertically hoisted. During construction, the seven segments at each tower were swung from a lower elevation (water level) to a higher elevation (onto the trestle for storage) by a swing system, then, dragged to be stored in the specified locations by a sliding system. Afterwards, two lifting cranes mounted on the main cables were employed to erect the segments from midspan towards the two towers, with two cantilevers stretching till the closure of the stiffening girder. The erection of the stiffening girder lasted 2.5 months, with qualified erection accuracy. © 2022, Journal Press, China Railway Bridge Science Research Institute, Ltd. All right reserved.