North America’s longest concrete segmental cable-stayed bridge opened to visitors on 28 June.
The $1.3bn New Harbor Bridge over the ship channel on the port of Corpus Christi in Texas has a full span of simply over a kilometre (1,004m, 3,295ft) with a important span of 506m (1,661ft).
Its 164m (538ft) tower is among the tallest buildings in southern Texas.
Developed by a three way partnership of Flatiron and Dragados, now one firm, it replaces an older bridge accomplished in 1959.
Importantly for Corpus Christi – the US’ largest crude-oil port – the brand new bridge stands 62.5m (205ft) above the water, excessive sufficient to let the Neo-Panamax class of container ship move beneath.
The previous bridge stood simply 42m (138ft) above the water.
Lengthy and winding highway to now
The brand new bridge has been a very long time coming. The primary public assembly about changing the previous one befell in 2011.
Lately, design points delayed progress.
In 2020, the bridge’s engineer, FIGG Bridge Engineers, was faraway from the undertaking after a federal investigation blamed it for the collapse in 2018 of a pedestrian bridge at Florida Worldwide College in Miami, which killed six individuals.
FIGG was changed by a group of UK consulting engineer Arup and Spain’s Carlos Fernandez Casado (CFC).
Then in 2022, an impartial third-party overview of the designs flagged up potential security considerations, which led to a standoff between TxDOT and the bridge’s builders, which they agreed to resolve in April 2023.
Officers at the moment are seeking to a brighter future.
Corpus Christi mayor Paulette Guajardo mentioned the brand new bridge “solidifies Corpus Christi’s place as a worldwide vitality hub”.
Texas governor Greg Abbott referred to as it “a gateway for jobs, commerce, and continued development within the Coastal Bend”.
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