Construction of 90m multi-span viaducts with span by span – A New Possibility in Bridge Engineering

This paper describes the background of the long-term R&D project which brought out the first application of a Large Movable Scaffolding System (LMSS) for the construction of a multi-span viaduct with successive spans ranging up to 90m long in Ankara region, Turkey. This is the first LMSS for multi-spans above 78 m spans ever applied worldwide. After mentioning the historical background and precedent state of art, this paper presents the main identified technical challenges and how they were overcome. The first application is briefly described, allowing defining its impact on present state of art. Finally, conclusions are drawn where it is verified that there are now more possibilities to erect multi-span viaducts, including with span-by-span in situ construction, which represent very significant reduction on materials consumption when compared with other construction methods.