Difference between revisions of "Puli Bridge"

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Puli Bridge surprised and shocked the bridge community when it become the highest suspension bridge and the World's Highest Bridge of any kind in 2015 with a deck 500 meters over the surface of Puli creek.  The inaccessible terrain on the east and west slopes along Puli Creek made it difficult for the bridge engineers to create an exact topographic model of the bottom of the Puli Creek canyon and once rock stability was ensured near the towers there was little need for them to find out how far down the elevation of the creek was.  In 2014 I was able to measure the drop from the construction catwalk of the main cables confirming a vertical drop of 500 meters.  With the center of the span at around 1,828 meters, the bottom of the nearby Gexiang River Gorge is approximately 600 meters lower at around 1,228 meters elevation.  
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Puli Bridge surprised and shocked the bridge community when it become the highest suspension bridge and the World's Highest Bridge of any kind in 2015 with a deck 500 meters over the surface of Puli creek.  The inaccessible terrain on the east and west slopes along Puli Creek made it difficult for the bridge engineers to create an exact topographic model of the bottom of the Puli Creek canyon and once rock stability was ensured near the towers there was little need for them to find out how far down the elevation of the creek was.  In 2014 I was able to measure the height from the construction catwalk of the main cables confirming a vertical drop of 500 meters.  With the center of the span at around 1,828 meters, the bottom of the nearby Gexiang River Gorge is approximately 600 meters lower at around 1,228 meters elevation.  
  
 
The main span of 628 meters will be unique among China's highest suspension bridges in that it will have a thin, steel box deck girder instead of the usual truss.  The Longjiang Bridge - also under construction in Yunnan Province - will also utilize an aerodynamic box deck girder.  The entire main span of Puli is composed of 52 segments of 12 meters in length.  Puli Bridge will remain the highest bridge in Yunnan Province until the Jinshajiang Bridge Taku surpasses it in 2020.
 
The main span of 628 meters will be unique among China's highest suspension bridges in that it will have a thin, steel box deck girder instead of the usual truss.  The Longjiang Bridge - also under construction in Yunnan Province - will also utilize an aerodynamic box deck girder.  The entire main span of Puli is composed of 52 segments of 12 meters in length.  Puli Bridge will remain the highest bridge in Yunnan Province until the Jinshajiang Bridge Taku surpasses it in 2020.

Revision as of 08:34, 1 January 2015

Puli Bridge
普立特大桥
Pulixiang, Yunnan, China
1,640 feet high / 500 meters high
2,060 foot span / 628 meter span
2015

PuliBridgeWideView.jpg


Puli Bridge surprised and shocked the bridge community when it become the highest suspension bridge and the World's Highest Bridge of any kind in 2015 with a deck 500 meters over the surface of Puli creek. The inaccessible terrain on the east and west slopes along Puli Creek made it difficult for the bridge engineers to create an exact topographic model of the bottom of the Puli Creek canyon and once rock stability was ensured near the towers there was little need for them to find out how far down the elevation of the creek was. In 2014 I was able to measure the height from the construction catwalk of the main cables confirming a vertical drop of 500 meters. With the center of the span at around 1,828 meters, the bottom of the nearby Gexiang River Gorge is approximately 600 meters lower at around 1,228 meters elevation.

The main span of 628 meters will be unique among China's highest suspension bridges in that it will have a thin, steel box deck girder instead of the usual truss. The Longjiang Bridge - also under construction in Yunnan Province - will also utilize an aerodynamic box deck girder. The entire main span of Puli is composed of 52 segments of 12 meters in length. Puli Bridge will remain the highest bridge in Yunnan Province until the Jinshajiang Bridge Taku surpasses it in 2020.

The first pilot line for the main cable was shot across the canyon tethered to the back end of a rocket in early 2013. This is only the 3rd time this has ever been done after the Siduhe and Lishuihe Bridges.

The span is part of the new G56 expressway that will connect the city of Xuanwei, Yunnan with Liupanshui, Guizhou as well as the G76 expressway in Bijie, Guizhou. This entire Yunnan/Guizhou border region is becoming a new hot spot of high Chinese bridges. In addition to Puli they include the nearby Beipanjiang Bridge Duge which will become the World's Highest Bridge in 2016 as well as the Beipanjiang Railway, Beipanjiang Shuipan and Dimuhe Bridges.


PuliElevationFinal.jpg

Puli Bridge Elevation


PuliEastTowerLonglensView.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


PuliEastTowerView.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


PuliEastTowerFogWide.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


PuliEastTowerLonglens.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


PuliRocket.jpg

Puli Bridge rocket launch to bring the main suspension cable pilot line across the canyon.


PuliBridgeEngineers.jpg


PuliRocketTether.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


PuliRocketLaunch.jpg


PuliRocketLaunch2.jpg


PuliPilotLine.jpg


PuliTowersAlignment.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


PuliApproachSupports.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


PuliWestAnchorageFog.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


PuliWestEndOfBridge.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


PuliWestApproaches.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


PuliWestTowerBottom.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


PuliWestTowerBase.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


PuliWestTowerSide.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


PuliBridgeConstRoads.jpg

A 2011 view of the construction roads.


PuliWestTowerLonglens.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


PuliWestSlopeView.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


PuliSlopeToGexiang.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


PuliComputerView.jpg

A rendering of the Puli Bridge showing the span across the Gexiang River and not Puli Creek. They probably did this due to the extreme difficulty of driving to on overlook on the south side of the Gexiang River canyon.


PuliBridgeDrawing.jpg

Another early computer rendering of the Puli Bridge.


PuliBridgeGroup.jpg

A group of Yunnan engineers visit the bridge site in 2011.


PuliModel.jpg

A group of Chinese engineers discuss the bridge design. The simplified terrain below the model does not show the full height of the V-shaped valley.


PuliModelView.jpg


PuliSatelliteImage.jpg

Puli Bridge satellite image. Note how the bridge crosses the Puli River just before it empties into the Gexiang River that flows off to the right. The Puli Creek descends as much as 200 meters during this last stretch before it joins the Gexiang River.


PuliSatelliteMedium.jpg


PuliSatelliteWide.jpg


PuliLocationMap.jpg

Puli Bridge location map.