Sichuan China's Bridges: Xin Nanmen Bridge across the Jin River (2)

July 2008 (30.648 Degrees, 104.073 Degrees) Xin Nanmen Bridge

A view from the deck of the Xin Nanmen Bridge. The sidewalk is really high, which may be to protect pedestrians from errant vehicles. I would assume it's hollow as otherwise it would be a large dead load for the bridge to carry. I also wonder what are the decorative structures near the stairs? They resemble restroom facilities, which would be unusual for a bridge.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Xin Nanmen Bridge across the Jin River (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Xin Nanmen Bridge across the Jin River (1)

July 2008 (30.648 Degrees, 104.073 Degrees) Xin Nanmen Bridge

Another deck arch bridge across the Jin River in Chengdu, China. I like how this arch has a solid slab instead of individual ribs. This allows the girders to be supported by pier walls instead of spandrel columns. I also like the shape or the exterior girders and the decorations on the barrier rails.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Xin Nanmen Bridge across the Jin River (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge in Chengdu (3)

July 2008 (30.654 Degrees, 104.051 Degrees) Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge

A last view of the Quixia Park Bridge. The two parallel decks may have been poured separately, Note the treads to help the people climb the bridge. The high vertical alignment must help to quickly drain the bridge during storms. I must have taken these photos very early in the morning because the streets and bridges are almost empty.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge in Chengdu (3) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge in Chengdu (2)

July 2008 (30.654 Degrees, 104.051 Degrees) Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge

A closer look at the Qixia Park Bridge. We can see that the arch is composed of three reinforced concrete ribs with diaphragms evenly spaced between them.  There are actually two decks with a longitudinal joint between them. Each deck is supported by two concrete girders just inside the arch ribs.

I think a common style for an Asian arch bridge is to have the deck swoop upward on top of the arch at midspan. This may no longer be a choice for U.S. bridges that are built to ADA standards.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge in Chengdu (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge in Chengdu (1)

July 2008 (30.654 Degrees, 104.051 Degrees) Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge

Another deck arch bridge across the Jin River. The river is about 160 ft wide which makes it just right for single span arch bridges. The arch shape appears to be a segment of a very large radius circle. It is a wide pedestrian bridge with an ornate barrier rail. The arch and railing have been wrapped in wire and tiny lights. During the day the river presents a calm appearance but it must have a festive aspect at night. Chengdu is a very green and pretty city.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Qixia Park Pedestrian Bridge in Chengdu (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Tong Chi Lu Bridge in Chengdu (2)

(30.6508 Degrees, 104.054 Degrees) Tong Chi Lu Bridge

A closer view of the Tong Chi Lu Bridge over the Jiang River. This photo shows the hangers carried by the three arch ribs that support the floor beams, which hold up the bridge deck.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Tong Chi Lu Bridge in Chengdu (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Tong Chi Lu Bridge in Chengdu (1)

(30.6508 Degrees, 104.054 Degrees) Tong Chi Lu Bridge

The next bridge across the Jin River is a single span bridge with three arch ribs that support the deck. Unlike the bridges we looked at in Miyagi, Japan, the bridges in China (like the ones in California) often carry watermains. We can clearly see brackets above the arches connected to the hangers that support the floor beams below the deck. Also note the architectural features on the ballusters that support the railings.

It seems like there are two kinds of through arch bridges: the kind where the arch ribs end at the deck and there's a tie to hold the arch in compression and then there are arch bridges where the ribs are anchored to foundations to keep the arch in compression.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Tong Chi Lu Bridge in Chengdu (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Jiangxi Street Bridges in Chengdu (2)

July 2008 (30.649 Degrees, 104.058 Degrees) Jiangxi Street Bridges

A closer look at the Jiangxi Street Bridges. There are several arch ribs similar to girders supporting the deck on the lower bridge. Also, the engineer must have felt the need for additional struts to support the deck close to the abutments.

The taller bridge appears to swoop up and over the river before putting cars back down onto the street.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Jiangxi Street Bridges in Chengdu (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Jiangxi Street Bridges in Chengdu (1)

July 2008 (30.649 Degrees, 104.058 Degrees) Jiangxi Street Bridges

As I continued my walk along the Jin River I saw some fisherman standing above a weir and a tall haunched girder viaduct and a single span deck-stiffened arch bridge just behind them. Also on the left there was a building shaped like a boat.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Jiangxi Street Bridges in Chengdu (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Renmin Road Bridge over the Jinjiang River

July 2008 (30.649 Degrees, 104.064 Degrees) Renmin Road Bridge

Walking along the Jinjiang (Brocade River) in Chengdu, China early in the morning. This river was extremely polluted until the city cleaned it up about fifteen years ago.  Now its banks are filled with people exercising, dancing, fishing, walking, etc.

The Renmin Road Bridge is a three span closed spandrel arch bridge over the river. The sharp cutwaters are decorated with dragons. Little alcoves above the cutwaters allow people to step out of the walkway to watch the river. The bridge is decorated with white ribbons on the arches and yellow flames on the overhangs, which gives it an intimidating appearance.

Arch bridges are popular in China. However, the Renmin Bridge (despite the dragons and the decorations) has a western appearance. Also, I can't decide if it's constructed of masonry or reinforced concrete or when it was built.

Sichuan China's Bridges: Renmin Road Bridge over the Jinjiang River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Hawaii's Bridges: Bridge in Kauai

June 2011 (22.219 Degrees, -159.431 Degrees) Bridge in Kauai

For my last Hawaiian bridge photo I have an unidentified bridge on the little island of Kauai. The bridge is a series of single span precast I girders on two column bents across a river. On this trip I rented a car at the airport in Lihue and drove to the end of the road and then walked another 11 miles to Honopu Beach. Somewhere along that trip I photographed this bridge.

I remembered my photos of Hawaii after watching the movie "The Descendants," which takes place on the very developed island of Oahu and the more laid-back island of Kauai.

Hawaii's Bridges: Bridge in Kauai by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Hawaii's Bridges: Akaka Falls State Park Bridges (2)

June 2001 (19.854 Degrees, -155.153 Degrees)Akaka Falls State Park Bridges

My last photo of a bridge on the Island of Hawaii is this little single span steel girder bridge that takes tourists to Akaka Falls. Note the dense foliage.

After visiting Akaka Falls I drove inland across the Saddle Road from the east coast to the west coast of the Big Island. The landscape is very different on this road and I don't remember any bridges between the Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea volcanos and very little vegetation.

Hawaii's Bridges: Akaka Falls State Park Bridges (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Hawaii's Bridges: Akaka Falls State Park Bridges (1)

June 2001 (19.854 Degrees, -155.153 Degrees)Akaka Falls State Park Bridges

All along the coast of the Big Island are tall bridges that carry roads over deep canyons cut into the rock by rivers rushing to the sea. Many of these bridges are on tall steel towers, however I didn't take any photos of them, perhaps because it was too difficult to find a place to stand along the steep cliffs and heavy foliage.

North from Hilo is Akaka Falls and the dense rainforest that's just a few hundred yards from the coast. It's hard to see the substructure of any bridge through the trees or without tumbling down the side of the canyons. Although it's not a bridge, I thought I'd also provide a photo of the falls.

Hawaii's Bridges: Akaka Falls State Park Bridges (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Hawaii's Bridges: Wailuku River Bridges

April 2001 (19.728 Degrees, -155.087 Degrees) Wailuku River Bridges

Looking upstream at the Wailuku River from the Hawaii Belt Road Bridge, a 422 ft long five span steel girder bridge built in 1950. In the foreground is the single span Puueo Arch Bridge. Behind it is a two span concrete haunched T girder bridge. Behind that is a waterfall.

The Wailuku River (at 28.1 miles) is the longest river in Hawaii, it has the largest discharge, and it accounts for a quarter of all the river drownings ('Wai' means water and 'Luku' means destruction in Hawaiian). The river runs between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa and is an important landmark for geologists studying the island's growth. The river is used to generate electricity.

In 1946, the Aleutian Islands tsunami came up the Wailuku River, destroying the railway truss bridge near the shore. However, the Puueo Bridge survived the tsunami.

Hawaii's Bridges: Wailuku River Bridges by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Hawaii's Bridges: Hawaii Belt Road over Wailoa Stream

April 2001 (19.723 Degrees, -155.070 Degrees) Hilo Harbor Bridge

Just west of Lihiwai Street is a two span bridge that carries Kamehameha Avenue over Wailola Stream at Hilo Harbor. It is a continuous two-span T girder bridge that was built in 1938 and rebuilt/retrofitted in 1993. There are shear keys on the abutments and on the hammerhead bent, perhaps to protect the bridge from tsunami.

There are many reminders of past tsunami along the road including a clock that survived the 1946 tsunami but was stopped at the time of the 1960 tsunami, at 1:04 AM. I saw many similarly stopped clocks along the Japanese coast after the March 2011 tsunami. The community that lived along the shore here was destroyed, many people were killed, and the residential neighborhoods were never rebuilt but turned into parks.

Hawaii's Bridges: Hawaii Belt Road over Wailoa Stream by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Hawaii's Bridges: Coconut Island Bridge in Hilo Bay (2)

April 2001 (19.729 Degrees, -155.068 Degrees) Coconut Island Bridge

A slightly closer view of the Coconut Island Bridge. I wonder if the bridge was designed for the tsunami that frequently strike Hilo? Maybe that's why the girder sits in a slot in the pier walls. A more frequent danger are the coconuts falling from the palm trees.

Hawaii's Bridges: Coconut Island Bridge in Hilo Bay (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Hawaii's Bridges: Coconut Island Bridge in Hilo Bay (1)

April 2001 (19.729 Degrees, -155.068 Degrees) Coconut Island Bridge

North from Queen Lili-uokalani Gardens is a footbridge to tiny Coconut Island. It's a three span bridge on slotted pier walls that support a single girder deck. I read that the island was built to provide a picnic and fishing area for tourists staying at the hotels around Hilo Bay. 

Hawaii's Bridges: Coconut Island Bridge in Hilo Bay (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Hawaii's Bridges: Lili'uokalani Garden Bridges (4)

April 2001 (19.726 Degrees, -155.069 Degrees) Lili'uokalani Garden Bridges

One last photograph of a bridge at Queen Lili'uokalani's Garden. It's a two span bridge supported on three abutments or perhaps it's two single span bridges. The T-girders are slightly arched, which is a recurring theme for the bridges in the park. From the photo we are looking northwest at Lihiwai Street, at Hilo Bay, and at the flanks of Mauna Kea on the other side of the Bay.

Hawaii's Bridges: Lili'uokalani Garden Bridges (4) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Hawaii's Bridges: Lili'uokalani Garden Bridges (3)

April 2001 (19.726 Degrees, -155.069 Degrees) Lili'uokalani Garden Bridges

It looks like this little bridge was built by putting up a wooden form and casting the igneous rocks (that are so abundant on this volcanic island) into an arch shape. A red gazebo with a mossy roof was built on top.

The Hawaiian Islands were formed by a hot spot where lava flows from the mantle up to the surface. As the Pacific Plate gradually moved, the hot spot formed a chain of islands with the Big Island (where this photo was taken) currently over the hot spot.

Hawaii's Bridges: Lili'uokalani Garden Bridges (3) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Hawaii's Bridges: Lili'uokalani Garden Bridges (2)

April 2001 (19.726 Degrees, -155.069 Degrees) Lili'uokalani Garden Bridges

Queen Lili'uokalani's Park reminds me of the Historical Bridge Park in Calhoun County Michigan. They are both full of bridges whose purpose now is to carry people around parks. Today's bridge is a little closed spandrel arch. It's resemblance to a Japanese bridge may reflect the close relationship that Japan has to Hawaii. In fact, there was a large Japanese community living in the area that was destroyed by the tsunami of 1946 and 1960.

Hawaii's Bridges: Lili'uokalani Garden Bridges (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Hawaii's Bridges: Lili'uokalani Garden Bridges (1)

April 2001 (19.726 Degrees, -155.069 Degrees) Lili'uokalani Garden Bridges

Standing in Queen Lili'uokalani's Gardens in Hilo and looking at several small arch bridges with a Japanese theme. We'll spend the next few days studying these bridges.

Hawaii's Bridges: Lili'uokalani Garden Bridges (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Hawaii's Bridges: Wailoa River Arch Bridges

April 2001 (19.708 Degrees, -155.074 Degrees) Wailoa River Arch Bridges

Walking along the pond (away from Hilo Bay) I came upon two more arched-deck pedestrian bridges. This park must have been part of an effort to turn Hilo into a tourist destination, but the area is always cloudy or rainy and so the tourists never came.

However, Hilo is a tsunami magnet. Similar to Crescent City in California, earthquakes in the Pacific create waves that are amplified on reaching the Big Island's eastern shore. A railway with tracks and bridges used to hug the eastern coast but it was sold as scrap metal after being destroyed by a tsunami in 1946 that originated in the Aleutian Islands. 

Hawaii's Bridges: Wailoa River Arch Bridges by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Hawaii's Bridges: Wiloa Park Pedestrian Bridge (3)

April 2001 (19.720 Degrees, -155.075 Degrees) Wiloa Park Pedestrian Bridge

One more photo of the Wiloa Park Bridge. In this photo we can more clearly see the abutments and how the arched girders are attached to the piers. Its hard to say whether the arches are precast or coast-in-place. The railings look like they were a lot of work to fabricate.

It's a oddly-shaped bridge. There are several famous Japanese and Chinese bridges where the deck has an arch shape. For instance, the Kintai Bridge over the Nishiki River in Iwakuni (built in 1673) has five wooden arch decks. However, contemporary bridge designers tend to put the arch under or above the deck.


It might be fun to ride a bike over the bridge except that there is no road or sidewalk at the ends. You probably would't want to walk across it if you relied heavily on a cane, walker, or wheelchair. I suppose that the designer may have been able to eliminate a span by using this arch shape, but I'm guessing this bridge design was meant to make the park more attractive.

Hawaii's Bridges: Wiloa Park Pedestrian Bridge (3) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Hawaii's Bridges: Wiloa Park Pedestrian Bridge (2)

April 2001 (19.720 Degrees, -155.075 Degrees) Wiloa Park Pedestrian Bridge

A closer look at yesterday's pedestrian bridge. It appears to be three arches placed end to end. Arches carry a compressive load and so the arches have big ends that can push against each other and with abutments buried deep in the ground. It looks like the arches are supported by spindly little columns. There are two similar bridges in the background, so this must be an architectural theme for this park. The handrails had to be custom made but perhaps all the spans were precast and used on one of the three bridges.

Hawaii's Bridges: Wiloa Park Pedestrian Bridge (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.