The Design of the River Suir Bridge in Waterford, Ireland

The new cable-stayed bridge across the River Suir in Waterford is 465 m long with a 230 m long main span and a single pylon. It has the longest span and the highest pylon in Ireland. This bridge has a number of characteristics which make it singular. Most of its foundations consist of large-diameter micropiles with a working load of 5000 kN. The pylon is an inverted Y without any intermediate cross beam and with streamlined external surfaces, which was made of reinforced concrete. The deck is a composite structure consisting of a steel grillage with a concrete deck. Specific steel tube and plate assemblies were designed to anchor the cables from outside the edge girders to comply with strict specifications regarding possible impact of vehicles against the cables. The concrete deck is made of ribbed pre-cast slabs. The deck has a variable width, which makes it very singular for a cable-stayed bridge. There is a single dilatation joint along the full bridge. Consequently, the deck is integral with one of the abutments.