Box girder bridges are a common style of bridge with support beams bolted together to form a hollow box shape. They offer sturdier construction, are often made of prefabricated steel or concrete, and can be moved to another location. They are commonly used in highway overpasses and can support heavier loads. However, they can be expensive to build and maintain. The Oakland/San Francisco Bay Bridge and the West Gate Bridge in Melbourne are examples of box girder bridges.
A box girder bridge is just one of many styles of bridges. It is actually a common style of bridge which has its defining feature in the girders of the bridge. The support beams of the box girders are bolted together to form a hollow box shape. Box beams are sometimes called tubular beams. That empty box can have the shape of a rectangle, a trapezoid, or multiple isosceles triangles juxtaposed to each other in alternating directions (e.g., point up, point down, point down). ‘high). Box girders offer a sturdier construction, especially for decks that need to have a curve. They are commonly used in highway overpasses. The Oakland/San Francisco Bay Bridge is a box girder bridge.
Bridge girders are usually made of prefabricated steel. This means that the beams are created in a factory and then brought to the bridge location for assembly. The beams can also be made of concrete – prestressed, high-performance or reinforced – or a mix of concrete and steel.
In addition to the girders, the box girder bridge itself can be prefabricated and then moved to another location. This is one of the great advantages of this style of bridge. It can also be cast using supports that are removed later, or the bridge can be completed in sections. Cranes must be used to move the bridge or its components into position. Having the ability to move the prefabricated bridge to its final location makes it ideal for high traffic areas that can only be closed for a limited time.
While people tend to think of bridges as being over water, box girders are often found on highways. Many people may have crossed a box girder bridge in the form of a highway overpass and not even noticed it. It can also support heavier loads such as light rail transport or lighter traffic such as pedestrians.
A box girder bridge is strong. One of its advantages is a high resistance to torsion, which is the twisting of an object due to torque, a useful feature if the bridge is curved. Additionally, larger beams and stronger flanges can be used, which allows for greater spacing between the support posts holding the deck. However, this type of structure has some drawbacks. Design can be expensive to build and difficult to maintain, for example.
The West Gate Bridge in Melbourne Australia is a box girder bridge. Part of it collapsed in 1970; since that tragic accident, which claimed the lives of 35 construction workers, greatly improved designs have come. Some girder bridges are even designed to withstand powerful earthquakes.
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