Hardanger Bridge
The 1,380m Hardanger Bridge in Norway stands tall with its two concrete towers and a steel structure that almost floats in the air, 200m above the water. The large suspension bridge connects the majestic mountains on either side of Hardanger Fjord with a two- lane road and a combined cycle lane and footpath.
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Project Name
Hardanger Bridge
Status
Finished
Type
Bridges, Design and engineering, Steel
City
Customer
Norwegian Public Roads Administration and Norconsult
Collaborators
Architect: Forum Arkitekter
MT Højgaard was responsible for the steel and assembly work on the Hardanger Bridge. We assembled approximately 15,000 tonnes of steel. The two suspension cables alone weighed 6,400 tonnes, and were installed using a wheeled cable track which rolled back and forth across the fjord at a height of 200m. Each cable consists of 10,032 wires, which gives a diameter of 60 cm.
The road itself was assembled using 23 steel sections each weighing 400 tonnes. They were shipped in under the bridge and hoisted up by means of a customised crane. The enormous sections were then welded together.
The suspension bridge measures 1,380 metres.
We executed the steel and assembly work on the Hardanger Bridge.
Animation of the crane lift facilitated execution
During the design phase of the suspension bridge, MT Højgaard’s Design & Engineering Division was responsible for the assembly. Gaining an overview of the assembly method is a complex process. We therefore developed a visualisation, which was used both for planning and for subsequently explaining how the assembly of the crane sections should take place.
Besides a two-lane road, the road consists of a combined cycle lane and footpath.
The Hardanger Bridge floats 200 metres above water and has two large concrete towers.
We also built a 3D model of the bridge with its main cables and a Tekla model of the box crane. We then created an animation of the assembly of the crane, which set out the sequence for this, which greatly facilitated the construction of the impressive bridge.