This $100 million bridge over river Han in Da Nang City, Vietnam, will be a new landmark. The concrete cable-stayed bridge has a single inclined pylon that rises 145 meters above water level, at which a viewing platform is accessible to the public.

RM Bridge provided an efficient tool for optimization of the structure, especially for the stay cables. The designer was able to perform advanced stage-by-stage analysis of the bridge construction, taking into account the time-dependant properties of materials. Working under tight time constraints, the designer delivered this complex structure on time.

In Queensland, Australia, the AU$63 million Kurilpa pedestrian bridge links Brisbane’s central business district with the newly developed arts and cultural precinct on the city’s South Bank. Inspired by the concept of tensegrity—a modern art form and structural system—the multi-mast, cable-stay structure is 470 meters long and features two large viewing and relaxation platforms, two rest areas, and a continuous all-weather canopy for the entire length of the bridge.

The design team modeled the tensegrity superstructure in GenerativeComponents while the bridge centerline geometry was being finalized in MX. Horizontal and vertical alignments were balanced against disability access requirements and approach structure clearances. To find a clash-free solution for superstructure geometry, the team dynamically adjusted the model using GenerativeComponents and Structural Modeler, formerly Bentley Structural.

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This $8.8 million bridge—the longest stress ribbon bridge in the world—is a non-motorized north/south crossing over Lake Hodges and the San Dieguito River Valley Open Space Park that provides recreational users with access to the network of trails on both sides of the lake. T.Y. Lin coordinated activities among the general contractor, Caltrans, the city of San Diego, and the San Dieguito River Park, all of whom had jurisdiction over various portions of the project.

T.Y. Lin engineers chose the stress ribbon bridge type to minimize visual impact. With three spans of 330 feet and a superstructure depth of only 16 inches, the bridge has a depth-to-span ratio of 1:248. The thin bridge profile, narrow 14-foot width, and natural sag between supports create a ribbon of concrete that resembles one of the many surrounding trails. The team used MicroStation for plan production, improving savings for both cost and schedule.

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The Boulevard of the Allies is a major artery into Oakland, a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pa., that boasts two major universities: the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon. This $29 million project replaced the mainline bridge and southbound off-ramp bridge with new structures, and replaced and relocated the northbound on-ramp bridge with a new ramp from Fifth Avenue to the Boulevard.

Wilbur Smith Associates rightsized the project at the request of the client to reduce construction and future maintenance costs. The project team created construction drawings and 3D renderings so when it was necessary to make major revisions to the drawings for cost purposes, MicroStation enabled fast revision to the CADD files. Reconstructing the alignment files with InRoads also saved time and money.

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