Piles resting on prestessed beams

Abstract

This work has been awarded a prize by the Prestreesed Concrete Institute. It refers to a number of flyovers on the Arroyo Seco, of California. This river has been canalized, to help drainage in case of heavy rainfall. The canal runs through a highly populated zone, and a motor road and accessory ramps had to cross the canal. The resulting design involves three prestressed girders, lightly arched in a parabolic outline, resting on each river shore, running along the line of the bridge, over the canal. It was decided that the bridge piles should not rest on the river bed, in order not to reduce its flow capacity. The girders of a maximum length of 39 ms, are box shaped, and stiffened with thin diaphragms. The cylindrical pile, 1.50 m in diameter, is an integral part of the girder, and applies to it a concentrated load of about 4000 tons. The girders rest on reinforced concrete cubes, which in turn are supported by concrete slabs and piles driven into the soil.