Gerald Desmond Bridge (New)
Location: Long Beach, CA Contract Value:
Gerald Desmond Bridge connects Long Beach to Terminal Island in Los Angeles, California. The bridge is a 610-metre-long cable-stayed structure with 305-metre main span consisting of precast concrete deck panels supported on steel framing. Somerset designed novel purpose-built travellers for four 1150-tonne capacity stiffleg cranes using various geometries to make lifts of steel pieces weighting as much as 70 tonnes at up to 34-metre radius. A balanced cantilevered method was used to prevent from negatively affecting or overstressing the already constructed superstructure members and to avoid the bridge cable stays while still allowing for acceptable loads to be transferred into the permanent bridge structure during construction. We also produced detailed designs of the geometry and location of tie-down pieces and 3D modelling for clash checks. We had to provide engineering during construction as it was a first time a traveller has been designed for such construction. to work on site, our original traveller design had to be constantly modified and the derrick reeving arrangement was re-designed.
