California's Bridges: Benicia-Martinez Bridges across the Carquinez Straits (1)

July 2009 (38.043 deg., -122.122 deg.) Benicia-Martinez Bridges 

A little further up the Carquinez Straits is the Benicia-Martinez Bridge. Conveniently, most of Bay Area Toll Bridges are named after the two cities they connect. 

There are actually three bridges at this location. There's the brand new cast-in-place, segmentally constructed, box girder highway bridge to the left, the old steel truss railroad bridge to the right, and out of the picture frame to the right is the original highway bridge, now retrofitted and carrying southbound traffic. We'll take a look at the southbound highway bridge tomorrow.

California's Bridges: Benicia-Martinez Bridges across the Carquinez Straits (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

California's Bridges: East Bay Bridges across San Francisco Bay (3)

June 2004 (37.818 deg., -122.344 deg.) East Bay Bridges

Another look at the construction of the new East Bay Bridge. In the photo above, we can see the piers on the eastbound side of the bridge being cast while the batter piles are being driven on the westbound side of the bridge. In this photo is a big derrick barge, maybe used to get the piles into position for driving. Also we can clearly see the sheet piling for the cofferdam that is keeping the area around the piles dry until the pile cap can be cast.

I should take my kayak out this summer and take some new photos of the skyway which is now completely built. Or maybe I can ask someone to take me on a tour. The completed bridge should be ready for traffic after the self anchored suspension span is completed at the end of 2013.

California's Bridges: East Bay Bridges across San Francisco Bay (3) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

California's Bridges: East Bay Bridges across San Francisco Bay (2)

June 2004 (37.818 deg., -122.344 deg.) East Bay Bridges

After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, it was decided to retrofit the existing East Bay Bridge. However, it was difficult to achieve the performance requirements and so it was thought a new bridge might make a more economical alternative.

A cofferdam was build in the Bay for each bridge pier. Then a special rig was set up to drive the steel piles at a batter through hundreds of feet of Bay Mud. Once all the piles were driven, the reinforcement for the pile cap and pier could be placed. It's incredible that a separate crane was used for each pier. They built the eastbound piers first and then they turned the cranes around to build the westbound piers. After the skyway was built, they started working on the signature suspension span and the approach structures.

Since we are spending some time in San Francisco Bay, I thought I might provide a map to show the location of the toll bridges. For some reason, the Benecia-Martinez Bridge (east of the Carquinez Bridge) isn't on my map. 


So far we've looked at the East Bay, Richmond-San Rafael, and the Carquinez Bridges. The map shows the 'Bay Bridge' which is made up of a double suspension bridge to the west, a tunnel at Yerba Buena Island, and the East Bay Bridge which is currently being replaced. All of these toll bridges got a retrofit and many have older and newer bridges side by side.

California's Bridges: East Bay Bridges across San Francisco Bay (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

California's Bridges: East Bay Bridges across San Francisco Bay near Emeryville (1)

December 2004 (37.818 deg., -122.344 deg.) East Bay Bridges

This photo was taken a few years ago when they were building the skyway portion of the new East Bay Bridge. The old bridge is on the left and the new bridge is waiting for the drop in spans. The match cast segments were built in Stockton (see figure below) and brought to the site on barges. Each pair was lifted up with a jack and post-tensioned to form a balanced cantilever structure. 

California's Bridges: East Bay Bridges across San Francisco Bay near Emeryville (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

California's Bridges: Bridges across the Carquinez Straits near Crockett (2)

February 1999 (38.064 deg., -122.225 deg.) Carquinez Strait Bridges 

The new suspension bridge was completed in 2003. It has a 2390 ft long center span and it cost $240 million. It was named the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge after an ironworker who built several Bay Area Crossings. 

After the suspension bridge was completed, Caltrans removed a span from the 1926 truss bridge. This gave our bridge climb team a place to take our recertification exam.  Unfortunately, by the time we did all the rigging on this big bridge we were utterly exhausted and so we never passed the exam. After a few months, the rest of the old bridge was removed. Westbound traffic takes the suspension bridge while eastbound traffic drives on the retrofitted truss bridge. 

California's Bridges: Bridges across the Carquinez Straits near Crockett (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

California's Bridges: Bridges across the Carquinez Straits near Crockett (1)

February 1999 (38.064 deg., -122.225 deg.) Carquinez Strait Bridges 

A little east of the Richmond San Rafael Bridge are the bridges across the Carquinez Straits. This photo was taken from the west tower during construction of the suspension bridge in 2002. Next to it is a riveted cantilever truss bridge that was removed after the suspension bridge was completed. To the right of these bridges is a  newer steel truss bridge that was retrofitted for earthquakes. We'll take another look at these bridges tomorrow.

California's Bridges: Bridges across the Carquinez Straits near Crockett (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

California's Bridges: The Richmond San Rafael Bridge across San Francisco Bay

February 1999 (37.936 deg., -122.417 deg.) Richmond San Rafael Bridge

The view from the east side of the Richmond San Rafael Bridge. This 5.5 mile long toll structure was built in 1956. It's similar to California's East Bay Bridge: a double-deck truss with many flexible supports and an occasional stiff, four column tower. The bridge includes two long cantilever truss sections with a sway-backed frame between them.

California's Bridges: Richmond San Rafael Bridge by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Algeria's Bridges: Le Pont de la Gare across the Rhumel River in Constantine

March 2011 (36.380 deg., 6.605 deg.) Le Pont de la Gare

The last photo that Hadj sent me was of the bridge to the train station (Le Pont de la Gare). Allauoa thought it might also be called El-Kantara.

It must be rough living with a giant ravine going through the middle of your town. I read that the Sidi M'Cid Bridge was built after a hospital was put on one side of the ravine. Apparently, the long ambulance ride around the ravine took too long to save the severely ill and injured.

Most of the bridges in Constantine were built by the French or the Turks. There are more interesting bridges in the city that we still haven't seen. I read that a new cable-stayed bridge by Dissing-Weitling was recently built.  Perhaps Hadj will send us some more bridge photos in the future?

Algeria's Bridges: Le Pont des Chutes across the Rhumel River in Constantine by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Algeria's Bridges: Le Pont des Chutes across the Rhumel River in Constantine

March 2011 (36.380 deg., 6.605 deg.) Le Pont des Chutes

My friend Allaoua told me that this bridge is named Le Pont des Chutes, because it is directly above a waterfall. It's at the bottom of the ravine and across the Rhumel River but I couldn't find much other information about it. 

I noticed my readership went down when I switched from Australia back to Algeria. In the figure below you can see I'm followed mainly in the U.S. with some additional readers in Canada, Western Europe, Siberia, Pakistan, and Australia. I think that I appeal to English readers because I write in English. For instance, Australia is dark green because I just spent two months writing about Australian bridges in English. I don't get many Algerian readers because I can't write in Arabic (or French). Why I have readers in Siberia and Pakistan is a mystery. 

Algeria's Bridges: Le Pont des Chutes across the Rhumel River in Constantine by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Algeria's Bridges: Sidi M'Cid Bridge across the Rhumel River in Constantine (3)

March 2011 (36.380 deg., 6.605 deg.) Sidi M'Cid Bridge

One last photo of the Sidi M'Cid Bridge. I wonder what Sidi M'Cid means? Perhaps it's someone's name?

Hadj did a good job of taking these photos. The bridge is sharply focused (you can see people walking and details of the rail) while the background is suffused in a soft light.


Eric Sakowski's website has a lot of additional photos and more information about this bridge.

Algeria's Bridges: Sidi M'Cid Bridge across the Rhumel River in Constantine (3) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Algeria's Bridges: Algeria's Bridges: Sidi M'Cid Bridge across the Rhumel River in Constantine (2)

March 2011 (36.380 deg., 6.605 deg.) Sidi M'Cid Bridge

Another photo of the Sidi M'Cid Bridge. The deep ravine and stone towers makes for a very dramatic bridge. To build the towers, scaffolding had to hang out over the ravine. Once the towers were completed, the suspension cables was pulled across the ravine, the ends were buried behind the towers, and then the cables were hung from the top of the towers. Note that the bridge also uses cable-stays. A six hundred foot suspension span is not that long (the 19th century Brooklyn Bridge is 1600 ft) but it's pretty remarkable for this location.

There are several interesting websites that discuss the Sidi M'Cid Bridge including one with construction photos. However, I had to use Google Translator to help me with the French. My Algerian friends tell me that the problem with the French colonists was that they lived in a completely segregated society from the Algerians.

Algeria's Bridges: Sidi M'Cid Bridge across the Rhumel River in Constantine (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Algeria's Bridges: Sidi M'Cid Bridge across the Rhumel River in Constantine (1)

March 2011 (36.380 deg., 6.605 deg.) Sidi M'Cid Bridge

Constantine is a beautiful city in North Africa. It must have been on a military route because it was conquered by the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Arabs, the Ottomans, and the French. It's the home of the Berber people.

Today's photo is of the Sidi M'Cid Bridge in Constantine. It is a 525 ft long suspension bridge (with cable stays) about 575 ft above the Rhumel River. It was designed in 1912 by Ferdinand Arnodin. The bridge underwent extensive repairs in 2000 including new cables. 

This photo and the other photos from Constantine were taken by Hadj Mokadem. I asked my friend and cubicle neighbor Allaoua if he had any photos of bridges in his hometown and he asked his friend Hadj to take some for me.

Algeria's Bridges: Sidi M'Cid Bridge across the Rhumel River in Constantine (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Australia's Bridges: The Go Between Bridge across the Brisbane River in Queensland (2)

March 2011 (-27.470 deg., 153.013 deg.) The Go Between Bridge

The river piers on the Go Between Bridge have dolphins with cutwaters, maybe because the river was cresting while the bridge was being constructed. I read that the dam operator upstream was negligent in not releasing more water before the river could overtop the dam. Considering the pride that people have for their river, I find it hard to imagine they weren't doing everything thing they could to prevent such a damaging flood.

This concrete bridge, like most of the other bridges across the Brisbane River is painted a creamy white. The City of Brisbane must have a big budget to maintain their river crossings, which is an obvious source of pride to the residents. I also see lights at the piers that are used to illuminate the underside of the bridge at night.


With this photo we'll be saying goodbye to Australia. Tomorrow we're going to return briefly to Algeria to look at some dramatic photos of bridges my friend Allaoua gave me from his hometown of Constantine.

Australia's Bridges: The Go Between Bridge across the Brisbane River in Queensland (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Australia's Bridges: The Go Between Bridge across the Brisbane River in Queensland (1)

March 2011 (-27.470 deg., 153.013 deg.) The Go Between Bridge

The Go Between Bridge is the last bridge that I photographed in Australia. There is a nice cable-stayed bridge at the next bend in the river (the Eleanor Schonell Bridge) but the ferry turned around before I got to see it.

The Go Between Bridge is another balanced cantilever arch bridge, the fourth such bridge that we looked at across the Brisbane River. I guess these bridges are the perfect choice for crossing an approximately 800 ft wide river. It was completed in 2010 and was named after a Brisbane pop-music group after a 'name-the bridge' Internet contest.

There are some nice construction photos on the Wikipedia website, that show the bridge before the center span was placed. It looks like the bridge was segmentally constructed. It has two box girders and is a toll bridge carrying two vehicular lanes, a bicycle lane, and a covered pedestrian lane. It was designed by Hyder Consulting and checked by Ove Arup who seems to have a strong foothold in Australia.

We'll take a closer look at this bridge tomorrow. 

Australia's Bridges: The Go Between Bridge across the Brisbane River in Queensland (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Australia's Bridges: Merivale Railway Bridge across the Brisbane River in Queensland (2)

March 2011 (-27.469 deg., 153.013 deg.) Merivale Railway Bridge

A closer view of the Merivale Railway Bridge. We are looking back downstream with the William Jolly Bridge in the background. From this view we can see two inclined cables from the arch come together at each anchorage on the bottom chord. Perhaps such a stout arrangement is necessary for a bridge carrying two sets of railroad tracks? I wonder if two trains are allowed on the bridge at the same time? We had to take a bus back to Sydney, because they said there was only one set of tracks for passenger rail between Casino and Brisbane. Perhaps the other track has a wider gauge for freight trains.


The ends of the tied arch rest on simple concrete abutments with steel bearings. Although this is an attractive bridge, it appears that there is less architectural details than the road and pedestrian bridges across the Brisbane River.

I wonder where the name Merivale originates? I see restaurants and towns in New Zealand, Canada, and Great Britain named Merivale, but I never found where it comes from.

Australia's Bridges: Merivale Railway Bridge across the Brisbane River in Queensland (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Australia's Bridges: Merivale Railway Bridge across the Brisbane River in Queensland (1)

March 2011 (-27.469 deg., 153.013 deg.) Merivale Railway Bridge

Continuing upstream past the William Jolly Roadway Bridge is the Merivale Railway Bridge. It is a 2460 ft long viaduct that includes a 440 ft long steel arch over the Brisbane River. The floor beams are supported by thirty-two 94.5 mm diameter cables inclined at angles from the arch ribs. The ribs are also inclined towards each other to form a basket handle arch. The bridge was designed by Cameron McNamara Proprietary Limited and constructed by Transfield Proprietary Limited in 1979.

Railroad companies had long been trying to connect northern and southern Australia with a bridge over the Brisbane River. However, the elevation was so low at the South Brisbane Railway Station that even at maximum grade very little vertical clearance could be provided over the Brisbane River. Moreover, the many barges (at that time) on the river required a wide shipping channel. The designer chose a tied arch bridge to minimize the depth of the bottom chord while still providing a very long span. Welded steel box segments for the arch and ties were brought to the site and assembled with high strength bolts.


We'll take another look at this bridge tomorrow.

Australia's Bridges: Merivale Railway Bridge across the Brisbane River in Queensland (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Australia's Bridges: The William Jolly Bridge across the Brisbane River in Queensland (5)

March 2011 (-27.469 deg., 153.016 deg.) William Jolly Bridge

One last photo of the William Jolly Bridge. It was designed by Harding Frew (a local engineer) in the Art Deco Style popular in the 1930s. The bridge was built during the Depression and was a valuable source of jobs for Brisbane. 

The two river foundations were carried into position, dropped to the river bottom, and then lowered onto firm rock by workers digging in pressurized air. The steel arches were brought to the site in several pieces and assembled on the bridge. First, the bottom of the arches were attached to the piers. Then timber falsework was assembled to support the rest of the arch. The arch segments were put together with rivets. Then they were encased in reinforced concrete to become fixed arches. Floor beams were hung from the arches and girders were placed on them. Formwork was set on the girders and the concrete deck was poured and cured.

The completed bridge includes two 33 ft spans on the north bank, three 236 ft long river spans, and seventeen varying length spans on the south bank for a total length of 1640 ft. 

The bridge appears to be well maintained. It has two traffic lanes in each direction and carries over 42000 vehicles every day. During rush hour, Grey Road backs up and the vehicles sit idling on the bridge. New bridges have been built to ease the congestion, but the city can't handle all the vehicles moving through the CBD.

Australia's Bridges: The William Jolly Bridge across the Brisbane River in Queensland (5) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Australia's Bridges: The William Jolly Bridge across the Brisbane River in Queensland (4)

March 2011 (-27.469 deg., 153.016 deg.) William Jolly Bridge

Taking the Brisbane River Ferry under the William Jolly Bridge. Note the ornamented floor beams supporting the girders.


The bridge was constructed (for $840,000) from 1930 to 1932 by Manuel Richard Hornibrook who later built the Sydney Opera House. In 1986 Hornibrook's company merged with a company started by Bert Baulderstone and then it was quickly eaten up by even bigger companies. There's an informative website maintained by Baulderstone with details of the construction of the William Jolly Bridge. Apparently the two river caissons were set on the river bottom, airlocks were set on the top, and the caissons were dug down from the inside until they reached bedrock.


I still don't understand how they encased this steel structure in concrete. Was the concrete sprayed on? We're forms used? 

Australia's Bridges: The William Jolly Bridge across the Brisbane River in Queensland (4) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Australia's Bridges: The William Jolly Bridge across the Brisbane River in Queensland (3)

March 2011 (-27.469 deg., 153.016 deg.) William Jolly Bridge

In Brisbane the river crossings have nice details and they are very well maintained. For instance, the William Jolly Bridge is in good shape despite being 80 years old. We can see some discoloration at the bottom of the pier perhaps due the recent floods. Otherwise, it is in excellent condition. The people of Brisbane must take great pride in their infrastructure and in their river. That's also apparent in their willingness to get the best designers for new bridge projects and to take risks on new designs.

Australia's Bridges: The William Jolly Bridge across the Brisbane River in Queensland (3) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Australia's Bridges: The William Jolly Bridge across the Brisbane River in Queensland (2)

March 2011 (-27.469 deg., 153.016 deg.) William Jolly Bridge

Another photo of the William Jolly Bridge, apparently taken looking downstream as the sun was rising. My month-long trip through Australia and New Zealand was recorded on a subcompact (5.5 oz) Canon PowerShot780 IS. I have SLR and rangefinder cameras, but its nice just to walk around with a camera that fits in the palm of my hand. 

For my trip to Japan next month, I bought a compact (8.6 oz) Sony CyberShot DSC-HX9V. I can really feel the difference in weight/size, but the new camera comes with built-in GPS, a direction sensor, and a 16 megapixel sensor. 

Australia's Bridges: The William Jolly Bridge across the Brisbane River in Queensland (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Australia's Bridges: The William Jolly Bridge across the Brisbane River in Queensland (1)

March 2011 (-27.469 deg., 153.016 deg.) William Jolly Bridge

The William Jolly Bridge is a 1640 ft long structure with three 236 ft long arch spans over the Brisbane River. It's a steel bridge encased in concrete that was built in 1932. This bridge is similar to Los Angeles River Bridges like the Sixth Street Bridge built in the same year. Bridges during that period have a similar Modern style that remind me of the Wizard of Oz. It was originally called the Grey Street Bridge until the 1950s when it was renamed after Brisbane's first mayor. We'll take a closer look at it tomorrow.

Australia's Bridges: The William Jolly Bridge across the Brisbane River in Queensland (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Australia's Bridges: Victoria, Kurilpa, and William Jolly Bridges across the Brisbane River in Queensland

March 2011 (-27.469 deg., 153.018 deg.) Kurilpa Bridge

Another photo taken from the Victoria Bridge of the Kurilpa and William Jolly Bridges.  The photo is taken at a bend in the river and so the William Jolly Bridge is actually perpendicular to the Kurilpa Bridge.

If the Kurilpa Bridge was a little more orderly, it might provide a more harmonious river view. Instead we see two women walking in front of a river topped with a variety of vertical elements in front of medium-rise buildings, forested hills, and a cloudy sky.

Australia's Bridges: Victoria, Kurilpa, and William Jolly Bridges across the Brisbane River in Queensland by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Australia's Bridges: Kurilpa Bridge across the Brisbane River in Queensland (3)

March 2011 (-27.469 deg., 153.018 deg.) Kurilpa Bridge

The Kurilpa Bridge is 1540 ft long and 20 ft wide. It was completed in October of 2009 at a cost of 63 million dollars (or about $2000 per square foot). The bridge includes a canopy, solar cells, viewing and rest areas, and a nighttime lightshow. 

Ian Ainsworth of Arup writes: 
"The structural design achieves the unusual appearance of a seemingly random array of tensegrity elements”
That reminds me of the Bird's Nest (National) Stadium in Beijing which appears to be randomly wrapped in steel, but was actually carefully designed and analyzed. The Kurilpa Bridge is a similar kind of design that gives the appearance of randomness that actually requires a great deal of effort. Perhaps that's not such a bad thing.

Australia's Bridges: Kurilpa Bridge across the Brisbane River in Queensland (3) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.