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1. Introduction

New Carquinez Bridge was planned to replace the

First Carquinez Bridge constructed in 1927 as a part of

measures to improve the earthquake resistance of the

bridges around San Francisco Bay. The official name of

the new bridge is The Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge.

It is a 3-span continuous suspension bridge with a

center span of 728 m and a total length of 1 055 m. Its

main tower is made of reinforced concrete, and the girder

is an orthotoropic box with steel (hereinafter called

OBG). The construction of this bridge was ordered by the

California Department of Transportation (hereinaftercalled Caltrans), and the order for the entire construction

was received by FCI Constructor Inc., Cleveland Bridge

California Inc., a joint venture (hereinafter called JV). IHI

received the order for fabrication and transportation of the

OBG from JV. Twenty-four units (standard unit mass

570 t, total OBG mass 12 722 t) divided in accordance

with the JV erection plan were fabricated at our Aichi

Works and transported to the site by sea.

This paper reports on the fabrication/transportation of

the OBG of this bridge undertaken by IHI.

2. Work outline

2.1 Project background

The New Carquinez Bridge completed in 2003 was a

third bridge constructed in parallel to the 2 cantilevertruss bridges (Fig. 2, Fig. 3) constructed in 1927 and

1958, respectively, over the Carquinez Strait (Fig. 1),

which is located approx. 30 km northeast of San

Francisco. California encountered such disasters as the

Sylmar Earthquake in 1971, the Loma Prieta Earthquake

in 1989, and the Northridge Earthquake in 1994. For this

reason, it conducted seismic analyses on all the bridges in

the state, including the two above-mentioned existing

bridges. It was concluded that the second bridge

constructed in 1958 could be used by reinforcing it to be

Fabrication and Transportation of Orthotropic Box Girder

for New Carquinez Bridge

YANAGIHARA Masahiro : Manager, Overseas Project Department, Bridge & Road Construction

Division, Logistics Systems & Structures

KIDA Akihiro : Manager, Manufacturing Department, Chita Works, IHI SA Technology

Co., Ltd.

YAMANE Mitsuhiro : Messina Project Department, Bridge & Road Construction Division,

Logistics Systems & Structures

NAKAYAMA Takeshi : Overseas Project Department, Bridge & Road Construction Division,


MURATA Shinji : Manufacturing Department, Aichi Works, Manufacturing Division,


IHI obtained the subcontract for fabrication and delivery to the site of orthotropic box girders for the suspension

bridge, which was constructed to replace the existing bridge over the Carquinez Strait in the vicinity of San Francisco. A

total of 12 700 t steel structures was fabricated in Aichi works and transported across the Pacific Ocean. With technical

trials and investigations, IHI succeeded in fulfilling the clients high quality requirements and won satisfaction from the

general contractor and the owner. With regards to ocean transportation, which was done with double stacking of heavy

units and across the Pacific Ocean in winter, all three voyages were successful to deliver on time with no problem.

Fig. 1 Site location

ErectionLocation


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earthquake-resistant but that the first bridge constructed

in 1927 would not have sufficient earthquake resistance

even with reinforcement. It was therefore decided to

replace it with the third bridge. As a replacement, the

same cantilever truss bridge as the old bridge, a double-arch type, and a cable-stay type were cited as candidates,

but finally the 3-span continuous suspension bridge was

adopted. It was the first modern suspension bridge

constructed in the U.S. after the Chesapeake Bridge

was built in 1973.

The new bridge was named after Mr. Alfred Zampa,

who made remarkable contributions as an iron worker to

the bridge construction work in this area, including the

Oakland Bay Bridge, the Benecia Bridge, the

Richmond San-Rafael Bridge, and the Golden Gate

Bridge since the construction of the First Carquinez

Bridge in 1927.2.2 Bid

The schedule from the date of invitation for bids to

ordering is shown below.

Date advertised August 23, 1999

Bid open January 13, 2000

Lowest price $187 837 346

Date order placed with general contractor

January 28, 2000Date fabrication order placed with IHI

April 15, 2000

This construction work was paid for out of only the

state and local budgets without any federal funds. For this

reason, the Buy America provisions were not applied to

the steel products, including the OBGs and cables.

2.3 Contract outline

The main contractors of this construction work are shown

below. In concluding the agreement, Caltrans made it

mandatory for JV to provide a 50% performance bond

and a 50% payment bond.(1) JV issued a 100% payment

bond exclusively to IHI, and IHI issued a 100%performance guarantee to JV.

Owner Caltr ans (California Department of

Transportation)

Designer Deleuw Cather, OPAC, Steinman

General contractor

FCI Constructor Inc., Cleveland Bridge

California Inc., a JV

Fabrication of OBG

Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries

Co., Ltd.

Transportation

Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy IndustriesCo., Ltd.

Delivery terms of IHI Subcontract

DDP, Incorterms 2000(2)

The California State Public Contract Code (1) prohibits

placing an order with a subcontractor without a

performance capability. The general contractor must

submit the company names of the main subcontractors.

2.4 Bridge outline(3),(4)

Figure 4 shows the general drawing of the bridge, and the

bridge specifications are shown below.

Bridge type 3-span continuous suspension bridge

Span length 183 m + 728 m + 148 mEffective width

25 m (4 lanes + side strip + sidewalk)

Main tower Made of reinforced concrete, 131 m in

height, installed through multi-tiered

self-climbing form system, 1 cycle = 4 m

in height, shortest term 2 days/cycle

Cable Wire 5 mm in diameter (made in U.K.)

8 584 wires/cable, 232 wires/strand,

mass about 1 t/coil. The aerial spinning

method was used, and wires were

pulled out during spinning so that 15%

of the dead weight was loaded on thecatwalk. The wire tension was

controlled by a computer.

Fig. 3 Site photo after demolishment of1st Carquinez Bridge

Fig. 2 Site photo after completion ofNew Carquinez Bridge

New Carquinez Bridge First Carquinez Bridge Second Carquinez Bridge

New Carquinez Bridge Second Carquinez Bridge

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Wrapping Galvanized round steel wire of 3.5 mm

Coating Zinc paste + acrylic polymer coating

(3 layers)

Girder Orthotropic steel deck mono-box girder

(total mass: 12 722 t)

The OBG was the first of its type to be

used for a U.S. suspension bridge

Foundation Steel pipe piles

Diameter 3 m. Total length 6 030 m.

Bedrock abou t --50 m. Fo oting is

precast footing manufactured at afactory near the site.

Pavement Waterproof layer + Trinidad lake

asphalt

2.5 Construction schedule

Table 1 shows the entire construction schedule of this

work.

3. Design

3.1 Design outline(4),(5)

The design outline is shown below. The detailed design

was made by Deleuw Cather, OPAC, Steinman as

described above, and IHI was not directly involved in thedetailed design.

(1) Design method

For the OBG and main tower, the AASHTO LRFD

(load and resistance factor design method) was

adopted, and for the cables, ASD (allowable stress

design method) was adopted.

(2) Design live load

The design live load was based on the standards of

AASHTO (American Association of State Highway

and Transportation Officials).

(3) Earthquake-resistant design

No damage by earthquake of recurrence interval300 years and traffic secured against earthquake of

1 000 to 2 000 years.

(4) Wind resistance design

No damage by wind of recurrence interval 100

years.

(5) Fatigue design characteristics

For trough rib welding, penetration of 80 to 100%

was secured (melt-through was not allowed). The

shape of trough rib scallop is devised.

(6) Painting

Waterborn inorganic zincrich of painting 100 to 200

m was used for the inner surface, and waterborninorganic zincrich painting 100 to 200 m + latex

Fig. 4 General drawing of the bridge (unit : mm)

147 000 728 000

1 056 000

181 000

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 12 1 2 3 4 5

Foundation, tower

Cable erection

Fabrication of OBG

Erection of OBG

On-deck work

Year

Itemmonth

Table 1 Construction schedule


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(rubber type) paint 100 to 200 m for the outer

surface.

3.2 Shop drawing

IHI received orders for both the fabrication and

transportation for this project and prepared the shop

drawings. Figure 5 shows the procedure for preparing theshop drawing.

The U.S. shop drawing is the last document to be

approved by the Engineer before fabrication was started,

and the inspection for the full-size drawing in Japan was

not conducted. Data for weld shrinkage and accessories

installation had to be included in the shop drawings.

Another characteristic of the American shop drawing is

that it contains the data of assembling sequence. Adding

such data, about 1 300 shop drawings were prepared in

this work.

4. Fabrication

4.1 Outline

The OBG was fabricated at our Aichi Works. The factory

was required to be qualified for major bridges, fracture

critical, and sophisticated paint of the categories of

American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and to

pass a Caltrans audit. In accordance with the erection

plan, the OBG was divided into 24 units. Segments with

the size of 1/3 unit were fabricated in the shop and

welded/bolted together into one unit on a leveled stage in

the shop yard. Then units were trial-assembled. From 4 to

8 Caltrans engineers and inspectors, and 1 to 3 JV

engineers were always at the workshop to inspect/controlthe work during the whole fabrication period.

4.2 Fabrication standards

The following specifications were applied to the project.

Standard specifications

State of California Business, Transportation and

Housing Agency Department of Transportation

1999.

Special Provisions for Construction on State

Highway in San Francisco County in San Francisco

from 0.6 km to 1.3 km East of the Yerba Buena

Tunnel East Portal

AWS D1.5 (1996)

4.3 Steel

The main steel is ASTM A709M Gr345T2 (JIS :

SM490Y equivalent). Check samples were cut out and

tested for each plate thickness and heat to confirm

mechanical property of the steel.

4.4 Welding, heat straightening4.4.1 Approval of welding

The specifications and AWS code were strictly applied to

the welding work. To meet the specifications QCP

(Quality Control procedures) had to be submitted for the

owners approval. This includes the procedures of

welding, inspection and non-destructive test for every

welding method. Especially AWS D1.5 was strictly

applied to the welding method. WPS (Welding Procedure

Specification) was required for all the welding operations.

Welding tests for obtaining the essential WPS variables

and for supporting WPS were executed. The results of

latter were recorded as PQR (Procedure QualificationRecord). Since the welding procedure depend on the

welding location, welding process and welding position,

124 tests for WPS and 62 tests for PQR were conducted.

These will be valuable assets for Aichi Works in future

projects. Welder qualification tests were also performed

in accordance with AWS D1.5. A total of 130 welders

including tack welders got qualification eventually.

4.4.2 Welding quality control

During the whole fabrication period severe quality control

was required especially for welding. Four resident

welding inspectors dispatched from Caltrans were present

in the workshop to check all welding activities. Since thespecifications required that an AWS-CWI, certified

welding inspector, and an AWS-CAWI, certified assistant

welding inspector, control the welding operation at the

workshop without leaving for more than 30 minutes,

some people needed to get such qualifications quickly

prior to commencement of the project. Five people

obtained CWI qualifications and controlled welding work

together with CAWI.

4.4.3 Heat straightening

Welding distortion was minimized by providing pre-

camber with the components prior to welding to minimize

heat input during heat straightening operations. Theamount of deformation of all components (approx. 1 300

pieces) was surveyed and recorded before/after heat

straightening. Moreover the actual heat locations had to

be recorded.

4.5 Panel assembly

For the trough rib welding to the both deck and bottom

plates, 80% penetration for the trough rib plate thickness

was required. Since melt through was not acceptable,

welding penetration had to be controlled to between 80

and 100%. To satisfy this requirement, welding tests were

repeated. One year was spent to obtain the owners

approval, including coping with the additional qualityrequirements. As the non-destructive inspection, 15% of

the welding length was inspected by UT (Ultrasonic

Fabricationprocedure

Approval

Weldingprocedure

Specificationclarification (RFI)

Welding data(shrinkage, WPS)

description

Solution of designproblems

Panel dimensionsdescription

Start of shopdrawing work

Development fromassembly drawing to

single-component

Fig. 5 Procedure of shop drawing

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Test). But if a defect was found, 100% of the welding

length was required to be inspected by UT for all the

trough ribs of the panel where the defect was found. A

smooth weld profile was required, and the allowable

underfill value of less than 0.25 mm was specified.

Figure 6 shows a welding macro. Trough rib welding wasexecuted after the trough ribs were tack welded to the

skin plate with a gap of less than 0.6 mm. Since tack

welds interfered with the penetrations of the final

welding, resulting in incomplete penetration, the size of

tack weld was reduced to the extent that no tack weld

would be cracked due to the welding distortion during the

final welding, and tack welds were ground off to be thin

enough before the final welding. As to the welding

process, various experiments and tests were repeated,

confirming that SAW (Submerged Arc Welding) satisfied

the aforementioned specifications and owners

requirements. Figure 7 shows the welding work. Panel-to-panel seam-welding was done by one side submerged

arc welding (FCB method). Since this welding method

was not in the AWS code, many tests and documents

were required to obtain the owners approval. High

evaluation was finally obtained from the owner because

FCB welding method does provide less distortion, fewer

defects and stable quality.

4.6 Shop yard assembly, trial assembly

It had to be proved that no effect of twisted deformation

remained in the OBG unit after three segments were

welded together at the unit assembly stage. The welding

sequence was set to minimize twisted deformation andsuch deformation was monitored by a system to display

real-time reaction fluctuation at 24 supporting points

during welding. This monitoring confirmed that through

dimensional control and reaction control the amount of

twisted deformation was kept within the allowable range

and proved that there were no ill effects. To keep the

temperature difference within 4 throughout a unit

during works, temporary tent-roofs were installed.Temperature rises of the OBG due to the direct rays of the

sun were minimized, and the OBG temperature became

stable in shorter time in the evening. That enabled us to

continue the work on the night shift in allowable

temperature conditions. To obtain the root gap of the site

joint and unit length within the specified range in the trial

assembly, the site joint area was required to be trimmed

after completion of shop assembly for each unit. The

trimming amount and trimming lines was checked in the

presence of the JV inspectors before the trial assembly.

During the trial assembly, Caltrans inspectors

independently took a survey the unit using threedimensional measuring equipment at the same time and

measuring points as IHIs. They checked if the difference

of survey results between Caltrans and IHI was within 1

mm (maximum 2 mm). After confirming that the

difference was within allowable range, the site joint

portion of trough ribs was allowed to be drilled. The

necessary numbers of drift pins had to be driven into

holes before dawn. Then the root gap of the site joint and

joint fitting were inspected by the JV inspectors under

the very tight schedule. By strictly implementing the

welding sequence, dimensional control, reaction control

and temperature control, the accuracy of deck elevationand longitudinal alignment, and elevation at the center of

the pin hole for hanger fixing were kept within 2.5

mm/50 m and 3.0 mm/100 m, respectively, meeting the

owners requirements.

4.7 Painting

The use of water-based paint was specified in terms of the

regulation of VOC (Volatile Organic Compound). The

first coat of waterborne inorganic zinc rich paint (100 -

200 m) was applied to the interior and exterior surfaces

at the shop. Painting work was performed in a paint shop

whose atmospheric conditions were controlled to satisfy

the severe requirements such as 7 to 29 for the ambienttemperature limit. Four MPa for the required minimum

value of adhesion was successfully obtained eventually.Fig. 6 Photo of cross section of trough rib welding (unit : mm)

Trough rib24 850

88

Underfill:notmorethan0.2

Controlledwithin1.6

Melt-through: not allowed

305

8

356

Penetration: 6.4 or higher (not more than 8)

Fig. 7 Welding work on panel assembly


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5. Transportation

5.1 Outline

The total number of OBG units was 24, and 8 units were

transported at one time at the owners request. To

minimize transportation cost, the OBG units were double-stacked, upper and lower, so that 8 units per voyage could

be transported by one ship. Since the owners

specification prohibited direct stacking of OBG units,

special frames were installed on the hull deck to separate

the upper and lower tier (Fig. 8).

Because of the owners delivery time requirement, it

was difficult to use one ship for 3 voyages, and 3 ships

were therefore chartered from ZPMC Shipping affiliated

with ZPMC in Shanghai (China). The order for the

fabrication of the transportation frames was given to

ZPMC. Forwarder services in Japan and the U.S., a ship

chartering agency service and mooring work wereundertaken by Giyu Kaium Co., Ltd. (Japan).

The average number of navigation days per ship was

about 20.

5.2 Shipping

The OBG of standard unit mass 570 t was loaded by dual

lift of 2 goliath cranes of Aichi Works. Since the trial

assembly direction was different from the loading

direction on the hull, each unit was turned 90 with 4

dollies. Figure 9 and Fig. 10 show the loading and

turning, respectively.

The OBG units were lashed using fastening jigs

installed as part of the frames around the receiving pointof all the transportation frames.

5.3 Marine transportation

The OBG units were each 29 m wide 49.6 m long, and

each unit was loaded sideways across the hull in order to

stack 8 units per ship in two tiers. As a result, the OBG

units overhung about 9 m from both sides of the hull, and

there was the possibility of the overhung portion being

damaged by waves during transportation. For this reason,

the OBG units were raised 6 m above the hull deck by

means of a transportation frame structure, and the Hawaii

route, where waves are relatively mild, was selected.

Hull movement during transportation was numerically

analyzed with the cooperation of IHIs Research

Laboratory, and then we reported on the effects on the

OBGs during transportation with the loading method and

transportation route to the owner for their prior approval.

Figure 11 shows the transportation routes of the 3 ships.

To prevent corrosion of the inner surface of the OBGs

due to waves and wind/rain, the openings at both ends ofthe OBGs was closed watertight with a canvas sheet

capable of withstanding wind velocity of 60 m/s in

consideration of stormy weather and long transportation

period.

5.4 Mooring at site and erection

The OBG units were directly unloaded from the

transportation ship and erected except for some OBG

units requiring transhipping onto smaller barges because

of the inaccessibility to unloading point for the ships.

Thus each time a unit was erected, the transportation ship

was brought under the bridge from the standby site and

moored with 4 anchors installed in advance in the seaarea. For this mooring operation, winches were locally

installed on the hull deck. Since the ships were moored inFig. 8 Transportation ship with deck units doubly stacked

(first shipment)

Fig. 10 Horizontal turning of unit

Fig. 9 Loading unit onto ship

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a navigation channel, a local pilot boarded the ships, and

they were positioned using a tugboat and moored in

accordance with his instructions. During mooring, theposition was checked by JV by means of optical

surveying instruments from the land. Figure 12 shows the

releasing of anchor lines.

The erection was made at low tide when the tide was

starting to rise. This was done to avoid hull movement

during hoisting operation and prevent the OBG load from

being unintentionally loaded on to the hoisting equipment

when the hull lowers due to the ebbing of the tide. Since

the OBG units were installed on the hull at a narrow

clearance of 1.5 m, hoisting guides were provided to

prevent collision during erection. But neither hoisted unit

nor hull moved horizontally during hoisting, because theships were positioned with high accuracy.

Because the coast guard did not allow the

transportation ship to be moored under the bridge for

standby within the navigation channel, they moved after

every erection to an open mooring area near the site for

standby. At the standby site, they were kept moored with

4 anchors as a safety measure for other marine traffic

because the space was limited.

The erection undertaken by JV was made using 4

strand jacks installed in advance on the OBG at the

standby site. After the erection was completed, strand

jacks were transported by barge to the standby site toprepare for the erection of the following OBG unit.

Figure 13 shows the erection of OBG. For the erection

operation, the mooring position was checked first, and

then the strand end of each jack was picked up from the

catwalk by means of a winch and fixed to the temporary

clamps installed in advance on the main cable, and the

ship position was checked again. Then the OBG was

hoisted through jack operation while the load balance was

checked.

Four strand jacks and all the equipment including

power pack were placed on the OBG, and the hoisting

operation was done in a concentrated way by means of awired remote controller from the transportation ship or

catwalk. For one strand jack, 19 galvanized PC steel

strands of 18 mm in diameter were used. Some units weremoved horizontally in the air because of site conditions.

This horizontal movement was made by means of load

shifting between 2 sets of strand jacks (2 4 uni ts)

(Fig. 14).

6. Conclusion

The fabrication and transportation of OBG for the New

Carquinez Bridge were outlined above. Under a severe

delivery schedule, we, including factory workers and

project group, united to perform the operations, and as a

result made the delivery on schedule. We intend to utilize

the technologies and experiences accumulated through thesevere conditions and schedule for this project for our

future overseas projects.

150E 165E 180E40N

35N

30N

165W 150W 135W

Japan

U.S.

20N

Tropic of cancer

: First ship

: Second ship

: Third ship

Fig. 12 Releasing of anchor lines with tug boats

Fig. 11 Sea transportation routes (actual)

Fig. 13 Lifting up of unit


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Acknowledgments

In implementing this project, we received much guidance

and cooperation from people both inside and outside IHI.

We hereby express our heartfelt thanks to them.

REFERENCES

(1) State of California, Department of Transportation :Standard Specification 1999 (1999)

(2) International Chamber of Commerce : International

Commercial Terms 2000 (2000)

(3) California Department of Transportation : Spanning

the Carquinez Strait (2003)

(4) M. Marquez, R. W. Wolfe and E. Thimmhardy :

New Carquinez Strait Suspension Bridge, San

Francisco, California, Structural Engineering

International Vol.13 No.2 (2003)

(5) Thomas Spoth and H. Ohashi : Design of the New

Carquinez Bridge, Bridge and Foundation

Engineering Vol.35 No.6 June 2001 pp.17-25

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Vol . 39 No . 2 2006Au gu st

Fig. 14 Traversing status of unit performed by load shifting

under hoisted condition

box girder 2

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