World Tourism / The Longest Bridges of the World / The Pontchartrain Bridge
The Pontchartrain Bridge
The U.S.A is known for many things. It is one of the richest, most developed, most interesting countries. It offers many possibilities and opportunities. It attracts many minds. If you are not struck by anything anymore, you should travel to Louisiana. It offers a great variety of places of interest. They have created them for many years and that is why they are so precious. Pontchartrain Bridge is that monument that you will never forget. This is one of the oldest bridges in the United States.
History
The bridge over Pontchartrain was built in 1956, he runs between the towns on the southern coast of Metayri and Mandeville on the north shore and became part of the highway connecting New Orleans to northern states. Initially, the bridge consisted of one overpass, which was organized by two-way traffic. In 1965-1969 a second overpass was made, and since then the traffic on the bridge has been carried out in two rows. The bridge is supported by more than 9,500 hollow cylindrical columns (1.4 meters in diameter). The length of the largest span is 55 m.
The fee
Touching upon the topic of the fee, it is necessary to say that it depends on the traffic. As the south side of the bridge from New Orleans accumulates huge traffic jams, the fee on the south bank was abolished, and the movement from south to north was free. A special commission is responsible for the collection of the fees. It also monitors the traffic on the bridge. A special danger to motorists is fogs, winds and thunderstorms. The bridge radio constantly informs drivers of current weather conditions, the dangers and difficulties that may occur in some 40 miles. The architects thought about safety and the public telephones were installed every 3 miles.
Tourist’s attraction
Lake Pontchartrain is inhabited by thousands of waterfowl. Every year, thousands of tourists come to gawk at the bird life under natural conditions. Thus a special viewing platform was constructed on the both ends of the bridge and a 2000 m- fence was designed to eliminate collisions between cars and birds.
The project of the Year
It is necessary to emphasize that the longest bridge in the world is already functionally obsolete, but the building of a new viaduct will rise to 600 million dollars. So today the workers prefer to repair the old bridge. Examination of its structures in 1987 showed that the poles had no traces of corrosion, although a small number of them had longitudinal cracks. The second survey in 1995 revealed a significantly greater number of defects. The repair work was carried out in 1996-1997. Most of the detected defects were below the water level, so the work was made there by the divers. The bridge reconstruction program was completed in 1997. In October 1998 the project received the prestigious award «Project of the Year", awarded annually. Thus if you are interested in old architecture and you love the birds, if you are in love and you need a romantic atmosphere, if you want to impress somebody, leave everything and come to Louisiana. This is a spot that inveigles the interest of anybody; this is a place that you will be eager to visit once again.
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It is a door to something new….
.
to something refreshing.
This is the place that gives birth to love and continuity to any relationship.
Different cultures have different traditions linked to bridges.
The Russians consider that the newlyweds should walk along a bridge as a symbol of a new period in life.
Chinese bring their children when they go the first time to the kindergarten believing that they will become honest, courageous, and always high-spirited.
The concept of the Bridge The bridge represents an artificial structure, erected over a river, lake, spilling water or any other obstacle.
It is generally built across the road or a river.
In many cases it joins two borders.
The bridge is one of the oldest engineering inventions of mankind.
The Structure of The Bridge Typically, bridges are made up of spans and supports.
Spans are used to transfer loads and the perception of their supports, they can settle the roadway, pedestrian crossing, the pipeline.
Spans are composed of supporting structures: beams, trusses, diaphragms (cross-ties) and the actual roadway slabs.
The spans are usually straightforward, but if it is necessary they are given a complex shape: spiral, ring, etc.
Forms of supports can be quite diverse.
Intermediate supports are called bulls, coastal - foundations.
Foundations are used to connect the bridge with the approach embankments.
Materials for bridges are metal (steel and aluminum alloys), natural stone, wood and rope.
Types of Bridges All the bridges can be divided from two points of view: By Application: Rail bridge Automotive bridge Metro bridge Hiking bridge Combined bridge By construction: the beam, the spacer , the combined.
Dozen of huge bridges connect different cities and countries.
Hundreds of people drive along them and do not even notice their beautiful architecture.
When we speak about the place where the greatest number of the longest bridges are situated you are going to be surprised to learn that the winner is China.
Still the longest bridge is Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge(1.
991 m) situated in Japan.
The design of the bridge is double-hinged beam system stiffness to withstand wind speeds up to 80 m / s, the seismic activity of up to 8.
5 on the Richter scale and withstand strong sea currents.
The second longest bridge is Xihoumen bridge in China (1.
650 m).
The cost of the expenses has raised to 2.
48 billion yen (approximately U.
S.
$ 300 million).
The third longest can be found in Denmark and is the Great Belt Bridge (1.
624 m).
Still the most reliable Bridge is to be found in China once again.
This is Tsing Ma Bridge(1.
377 m).
They say that it will be safe even when there are typhoons.
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