Sidney Lanier Bridge, Georgia

Abstract

The existing Sidney Lanier Bridge crossing the Brunswick River near Brunswick, Georgia, has a lift span of 76.25 m (250 ft), which is deemed too small for the ships that visit the harbor today. The new Sidney Lanier Bridge is a replacement for the existing structure to ensure navigational safety. It will be 2372.9 m (7,780 ft) long with a 381.25-m (1,250-ft) cable-stayed center span, which has a vertical clearance of 56.425 m (185 ft) above the mean high water level. The new bridge will permit the passage of any ship known to exist in the world today. The total width of the bridge deck is 24.71 m (81 ft), which will accommodate two traffic lanes in each direction. The concrete deck girder consists of a concrete slab 27.94 cm (11 in.) thick supported by 1.525-m (5-ft) by 1.45-m (4.75-ft) concrete longitudinal girders at each edge and by transverse floor beams spaced at 8.29 m (27.17 ft). At the two pylons, the superstructure is free to move in the longitudinal direction and restrained in the vertical and transverse directions. The concrete deck is cast monolithically with the two end piers. Each concrete pylon carries two vertical planes of fan-shaped cables anchored to the edge girders.