The Yavuz Sultan

Selim Bridge

STRUCTURE
Special issue November 2016

Magazine Special issue

P. 06 Project photos
P. 27 The record-setting structure
P. 30 A technical challenge on an unprecedented scale
 The image The word

I
remember vividly my visit to Normandy Bridge
as a young engineer in 1992. The 856 metre
Between April 2015, when the first stay cable was installed,
span beat the previous world record for a cable
and February 2016, when the last one was installed, up to
200 people, including about 60 supervisors, worked
stayed bridge by more than 250 meters.
simultaneously on the towers which reach a height of more
than 300 metres, the deck, which runs 75 metres above
At the time, some technical journals began to
the waters of the Bosphorus and on dry land in the offices
overlooking the worksite. question the wisdom of such a leap in
technology. But pushing the boundaries is what
challenges engineers, and the success comes
from understanding and managing the risks.
It is important as engineers that we can be
audacious in our aspirations. Patrick Nagle
Chief Executive Officer
In 2012, 20 years later, Freyssinet set a new of Freyssinet

world record with the Russky Island Bridge and

its 1,104 metre cable-stayed span, which would have seemed folly back then.
And now, in 2016, comes the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey.
Designed by Jean-Francois Klein and Michel Virlogeux with its 1,408m span,
a hybrid solution of suspension and cable stays, this bridge takes another leap
forward. The challenges were many, but the realisation of this bridge is a
testament to the designers and their vision, and not least to our men and
women on the project site who worked with fortitude, passion and humour.
I wish to thank ICTAS and ASTALDI for the confidence they placed in us.
We are proud to have shared in this outstanding experience with them.
The Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge is an iconic engineering structure which will
help to inspire us all. I hope you enjoy this pictorial record of an extraordinary
bridge and like me, you look forward to our next landmark structure.
We already have some ideas

06 Portfolio
Project photos.
30 The technology
A technical challenge on Contents 02
an unprecedented scale.
27 The projet
The record-setting structure.
31 The year
1977: the Brotonne Bridge.
03

This is a special issue of Structure Magazine. Structure Magazine, Special Issue Communication
Department: 280, avenue Napolon Bonaparte -
The magazine complements our web site CS60002-92506Rueil-Malmaison CedexFranceEditorial
Board: Guillaume Billaroch, Damien Delbos, Juliette
www.freyssinet.com which contains more news Dumoulin Design: Production: EMAPRESS
Translation: Alto Circulation: 1,500 copies in English,
and information about our business. 1,000 copies in French, 1,000 copies in Spanish
ISSN: pending Photo credits: Freyssinet, Freysas,
Michel Virlogeux, William Beaucardet, Francis
Vigouroux, Aykut Ecevit / MAE, Id Contact:
juliette.dumoulin[a]sf-group.com

Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016 Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016
In short

ODAYERI
Yavuz Sultan Black Sea

Key figures Design

Selim bridge

GARIPE RIVA
ARNAVUTKO

- 1,408 metre span

POYRAZKY
SARIYER
GKTRK

Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridge

MASLAK
BEYKOZ - 176 stay cables
- 597 metre length
SULTANGAZI

ISTANBUL
Bosphorus bridge

ROMANIA
Istanbul RUSSIA
PASAKY
of longest cable
- 7,800 tonnes of steel
BULGARIA Black Sea

The design of the third Bosphorus bridge was awarded in early

EKMEKY
Ankara TURKEY
GREECE
KADIKY

for the stay cables

IRAN
Hali bridge

2012 to Michel Virlogeux(1) and Jean-Franois Klein(2). In just nine

SYRIA
Mediterranean
CYPRUS IRAQ
Sea
Marmara Sea 5 km

weeks they drew up the concept of the structure that became the Yavuz
Sultan Selim Bridge in 2016. From the start, a variety of techniques were
devised for the crossing, which has a 1,408-metre span and carries a dual
four-lane motorway and two railway tracks. The design ultimately selected
The project was a hybrid cable-stayed suspension bridge, a technique previously
applied on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York that overcomes a number of
challenges related to size. The bridge completed four years after the start
of design studies is consistent with the first drawings, give or take a few
details. It constitutes a technical feat.
(1) Michel Virlogeux has been an independent consulting engineer since 1995. He is known for designing over 100 structures
worldwide, the most famous of which are the Normandie Bridge and the Millau Viaduct in France and the Vasco de Gama
Bridge in Portugal.
(2) The T Ingnierie firm specialises in designing complex structures and handles design studies, works and site supervision.
It is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and managed by a Board that includes Jean-Franois Klein.

to many successful projects, among them airport

Partners construction projects, harbor construction projects,
marina construction projects, high-speed train
projects, highway and bridge construction,
KGM, the project owner high-capacity power plants, smart buildings,
The General Directorate of Highways (KGM) business centers, tourism facilities, irrigation
is a state agency in charge of the construction system construction projects, government
and maintenance of all public roadways outside buildings, mass housing, hospitals, university
of cities and towns in Turkey. It was established and school construction projects.
on March 1, 1950 following the acceptance of the
International Highways Act in 1949. The agency ASTALDI
is a sub unit of the Ministry of Transport and The ASTALDI GROUP is one of the most
Communication. important firms in the field of large-scale works.
An international player for more than 90 years,
ICA, the general contractor it addresses the market by developing complex 04
The City of Istanbul, linking Europe and Asia, has ICA was established as a partnership between
IC ta Construction, the locomotive company
and integrated initiatives (design, construction,
undergone unsurpassed growth over the past several of IC brahim een Investment Holding A.. that
operation), with solid expertise and highly
specialised human resources. Projects carried out 05
has signed its name to many international
years. The many projects developed to accommodate it include achievements, and Astaldi, again another
are often the results of successful collaborations
with worlds most famous starchitects. The
the Northern Marmara Highway, a 150-kilometre motorway internationally renowned and successful
construction company. Besides the Yavuz Sultan
Groups segments of activity range from Transport
Infrastructure to Hydroelectric and Power Plants,
that bypasses Istanbul to relieve traffic in the city centre. Selim Bridge, ICA has also undertaken the from Civil and Industrial Construction to Systems
expansion project for the Pulkovo Airport in
The project culminates in the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, a St. Petersburg and the Western High Speed
and Facility Management, as well as Management
of Complex Systems.
2,164-metre structure spanning the Bosphorus north of the city Diameter (WHSD) project in Russia.
near the Black Sea. ICTAS
Since the first day of its establishment up to the
present, IC ta Construction has signed its name

Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016 Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016
Portfolio
176 Freyssinet stay cables
were installed on the Yavuz
Sultan Selim Bridge.

00
06

07

Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016 Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016
Portfolio

November 2014. 00
08
The project is proceeding apace.
Soon the Freyssinet teams will be 09
able to install the first cables.

Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016 Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016
Portfolio

April 2015. The first cables are tensioned.

One month later, 10 of the 176 stay cables 00
10
have been successfully installed.
11

Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016 Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016
Portfolio

View from one of the two

towers, at a height of
322 metres. The first cables 00
12
have been installed.
13

Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016 Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016
Portfolio

00
14

15

The cables are made up of

between 65 and 151 strands with
a tensile strength of 1,960 MPa to
support the weight of the deck
and the traffic on the bridge.
Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016 Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016
Portfolio

Key
figures
2,164 metre length 2 towers with a height of 322 metres
1,408 metre span 57 segments
176 stay cables 58.50 metre deck width
597 metre length of longest cable Cable stay tensile strength: 1960 MPa
7,800 tonnes of steel for the stay cables 2x4 motorway lanes
Anchor units, 75 to 151 2 railway tracks
Maximum height of dampers: 4 years of work from initial drawings
7.2 metres above the deck to handover
2 suspension cables, Up to 200 Freyssinet employees
each 2,420 metres long working simultaneously
34 pairs of vertical hangers

16

17

Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016 Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016
Portfolio
Members of the Freyssinet / Freysa
team working on the bridge.

00
18

19

Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016 Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016
Portfolio
Hebetec lifted 17 segments
weighing 1,000 tonnes each
at a speed of 10 m/h.

00
20

21

Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016 Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016
Portfolio

The project is nearing completion.

Only a few segments remain 00
22
to be installed.
23

Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016 Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016
Portfolio

26 August 2016. Four years after

the start of the project, the Yavuz
Sultan Selim Bridge is inaugurated.

00
24

25

Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016 Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016
Portfolio

the project
00
26

27

Nearly 200 Freyssinet employees

were involved in the project
a great human undertaking.

Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016 Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016
 The project

Yavuz Sultan
Selim Bridge
Lifting the spans
The record-setting Hebetec was in charge of lifting the 17 central span segments. To do this,
the Hebetec teams worked with Freyssinet to devise and type approve the
best way to lift the 1,000 tonne segments. It was ultimately decided to use
the main cable to support the complex operation. It took four months to
produce the equipment and two months to install it. Each segment was lifted
at a speed of 10 m/h. The bridge was keyed in March 2016.
The essentials Hebetec offers comprehensive services in the lifting engineering area. The field
of activities ranges from the preparation of solution concepts and the execution
of lifting, lowering and sliding heavy loads up to renting out hydraulic devices, which,
The project Supply and installation of the to a large extent, are developed by the company.
176 cables and dampers of the Yavuz Sultan Selim
Bridge in Turkey.
Structure The hybrid (cable-stayed suspension)
Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge has total length of 2,164
metres. Its towers are 322 metres high and its span
is 1,408 metres long. It has set a new world record for
a composite road-rail bridge and for stay cable length.
Duration 2012 to 2016. Cable installation began
in April 2015 and ended in February 2016.

istanbul
turkey
It took only four years to build the A technical... On 22 and 23 February, the worlds longest
majestic Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge The cable technical design studies got stay cables were attached to the European
spanning the Bosphorus in Istanbul. under way at Freyssinet at the end of and Asian side towers.
The Freyssinet teams responsible 2012. The teams in charge of the project
for the cable-stayed part of the faced a substantial number of challenges A total of 7,800 tonnes of steel were
structure installed its 176 stay cables due to the specific features of the structure installed in less than nine months of
over a period of 10 months. (see page 30). The cables had between works, an average of 900 per month.
The major project will remain 60 and 151 strands with the standard To maintain this pace, Freyssinet called
an indelible memory for all those 1860 MPa tensile strength used in on specialists from all its subsidiaries.
who worked on it. cable-stayed bridges to support the weight Up to 200 people, including about 60 Access viaducts
The hybrid (cable-stayed suspension) of the deck and traffic. A new 151-strand supervisors, worked simultaneously on
Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge spanning anchor was designed and several the structures two towers, which rise In parallel with the work carried out by Freyssinet on the Yavuz Sultan Selim
the Bosphorus north of Istanbul, innovative damper solutions were more than 300 metres; the deck, which Bridge, the teams from Freysa, Freyssinets subsidiary in Turkey, were in
designed by Jean-Franois Klein developed, as were special deviators. stands 75 metres above the water of the charge of designing and building the three highest access viaducts and
(T-Ingnierie) and Michel Virlogeux, Bosphorus; and on land in the offices for prestressing the bridge.
has a total length of 2,164 metres. The and human challenge overlooking the worksite. Freysa was founded in 1988 as a company jointly held by Freyssinet and the Turkish
bridges innovative hybrid design sets a On 3 April 2015, less than two years after Yapi Merkezi group. Since its inception, Freysa has taken part in more than
number of records : the highest towers the cornerstone was laid, the Freyssinet The finishing work, although not as 300 projects in more than 12 countries. The company delivers the full range
(322 metres), the widest deck (59 metres), teams installed the first cable of the back spectacular, was a similar challenge for of Freyssinet solutions and services. Its recent project include the upgrade to seismic
the longest span for a composite road-rail span on the European side tower. It was the teams. It involved coordinating more standards of the Marmara hospital and the Hali bridge in Istanbul.
bridge (1,408 metres) ; and of course the 154 metres long and had 99 strands. Just than 12 different activities taking place
longest stay cables (597 metres) over 10 days later the first cable was throughout the immense structure and 28
exceeding the length of those of the installed on the Asian-side tower. The the installation of the 172 damper masts
Russky Island Bridge in Vladivostok, cables were installed in parallel on both metal structures with a length of over The partners
Russia with a 1,104 central span, which sides of the Bosphorus throughout the seven metres, which weigh more than five Client 29
is also equipped with Freyssinet stay project. As soon as the second cable was tonnes and were adjusted with millimetre KGM (Turkish Ministry Damien Delbos, project manager
cables. With its eight motorway lanes installed, resources were made available precision by means of a resourceful of Transport)
(four on each side) and ultimately its two to work on cable installation day and support technique. Concessionaire
ICA (JV Itas and Astaldi)
railway tracks, the Yavuz Sultan Selim
Bridge will facilitate traffic between
night, seven days a week on both sides
of the Bosphorus. The project reached its
Design
Jean-Franois Klein In choosing to build the majestic
Europe and Asia. Freyssinet was in
charge of the studies, design, supply
standard pace of ten days per cycle during
the next cycle*. The first 160 stay cables
T-Ingenirie & Michel Virlogeux
Construction outsized bridge at the entrance to the
Bosphorus, Turkey gave us an opportunity
and installation of the stay cables and were installed within seven and a half Hyundai Engineering &
dampers for this record-setting structure. months. Following a two-month Construction / SK Engineering
& Construction
to exceed everything that had been done
The company also supplied and installed interruption to make way for the * A cycle includes the following operations:
- lifting and installation of a metal segment
1,500 tonnes of prestressing and raised installation of the first central segments, in the central span,
the 17 segments of the bridges central
span.
the last 16 stay cables were installed in
just over a month.
- installation of a pair of stay cables in the back
span and a pair of stay cables in the opposite span. before, and we welcomed it!
Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016 Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016
 The technology

A technical challenge
on an unprecedented scale

1977
Following an invitation to
tender for the cable-stayed
part of the bridge in October
2012, Freyssinet engineers
1977

The year
immediately set to work
to meet the technical
challenge and design
the most suitable cable
system for the structure.
The deck was to be longer, wider
and more flexible than the deck
of the Russky Island bridge in
Vladivostok, which held all the
records at the time. Innovative,
never before seen solutions were
therefore called for. A team from
the Freyssinet Technical

The Brotonne Bridge

Department worked full time
on the project.
Chief Engineer Matthieu
Guesdon, who coordinated
the technical team, remembers
that We thought about it at night, The Brotonne Bridge, Freyssinets first cable-stayed
on the weekend we were operating
full steam ahead. bridge, was opened to traffic in Normandy, France.
The cables had between 75 and
151 anchor units with 1960 MPa
The 1,278 metre long structure with a 320 metre span,
tensile strength to support the weight of the bridge designed by French engineers Jean Muller, Jacques
and traffic. A new 151-strand anchor system was The cardan joint damper concept is
specially designed. The team also developed a based on the use of special hydraulic Mathivat and Jacques Combault, held the length record
patented solution for the stay cables numbered
11 to 22: cardan joint dampers (see insert).
pistons. One of each pistons connections
is not mounted on the end but rather in
for a cable-stayed span at the time it was built.
When we were uncertain, we often repeated the old the middle of the body with an articulated
saying, There are no problems, there are only connecting piece that moves in both
solutions, said Matthieu Guesdon. By the end of directions. This system limits the span of
2015, the design studies were being finalised and the support masts and reduced the amount Around the world...
the testing phase was proceeding at full speed. of steel required to produce them.
We carried out tests on an unprecedented scale,
commensurate with the size of the structure, says Concorde Star wars 30
Matthieu Guesdon. Everything from deviators to
anchorage systems, and strand sheath wear was On 22 November, at 8:47 a.m., On 25 May, the first instalment
two Concorde airplanes, one from of the Star Wars trilogy by 31
painstakingly investigated.
A first cable, with a length of 154 metres, was Heathrow in the U.K. and one American filmmaker Georges Lucas
installed in April 2015 and the team from the from Roissy in France, landed at opened in 32 theatres in the United
Technical Department remained on standby JFK in New York. The event marked States. Star Wars won six Oscars.
throughout the works. Even now that the bridge has the start of regular supersonic flights
been inaugurated, the project is still with us, says
Matthieu Guesdon. We were very fortunate to have between Europe and the U.S.
been part of it, to have been familiar with the technical
details and to have played a role in a project on this
scale. The bridge is, you could almost say, a member
of the family.

Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016 Structure Magazine Special Issue November 2016