Turkey - Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge

Freyssinet cables set a new world record for span length

The Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge was inaugurated today at a ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoðan. The hybrid bridge's 1,408-metre span fitted with Freyssinet cables sets the new world record for cable-stayed span length.

The Yavuz Sultan Selim hybrid cable-stayed suspension bridge located north of Istanbul and designed by engineers Jean-François Klein and Michel Virlogeux has a total length of 2,164 metres and its towers are 322 metres high. The length of its 1,408 metre main span exceeds the world record previously held by the Russky Island Bridge in Vladivostok, Russia, which has a 1,104 metre central span and is also fitted with Freyssinet cables. With its eight motorway lanes (four in each direction) and two railway tracks, the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge will facilitate traffic between Europe and Asia.

Freyssinet was responsible for studies, design, supply and installation of the record-setting structure's cables and dampers. It also handled the structure's prestressing and lifted the 17 central span segments.



Technical…
Cables technical studies got under way at Freyssinet at the end of 2012. The teams in charge of the project had to contend with a number of challenges related to the specific features of the structure. To support the weight of the deck and traffic on the bridge, cables comprising between 75 and 151 strands with tensile strength of 1960 MPa were used. A new 151-strand anchorage was designed, several innovative damper solutions were developed and special deviator saddles were devised.



…and human challenges
At the worksite, Freyssinet's work was spread between early 2014 and mid-2016. The project began in February 2014 with structure prestressing. The first cable, with a length of 154 metres, was installed in April 2015. The last cable was installed in February 2016. A total of 176 compact Freyssinet cables with high tensile steel strands were installed. More than 300 people worked around the clock, seven days a week, to complete these works.




Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge
Client: KGM (Republic of Turkey General Directorate of Highways)
Concessionaire: ICA
Design: Jean-François Klein – T-Ingeniérie & Michel Virlogeux
Construction: Hyundai Engineering & Construction / SK Engineering & Construction