You are on PERI's international website. Click here to switch to PERI USA. Click here to view all PERI websites.

Civil Engineering

Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, United States of America

Two 175 m high piers at a distance of 472 m from each other, take the loads of this cable stay construction which connects both sides of the Cooper River.
Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, Charleston, USA - On artificial islands in the Cooper River, the pylons rose steadily upwards in regular weekly cycles using PERI self-climbing technology and PERI VARIO girder wall formwork.
Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, Charleston, USA - With the ACS self-climbing system and VARIO GT 24 girder wall formwork, the high requirements on the concrete surfaces and dimensional accuracy could be fulfilled.
Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, Charleston, USA - The ACS self-climbing system lifting 4 working levels together with the formwork without the use of a crane.
Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, Charleston, USA - The two pylons of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge form the main load carrying members for over 472 metres of cable stay bridge decking.
Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, Charleston, USA - Up to the change in inclination of the pylon legs, a total of 11 cycles had to be concreted, each with heights of 4.15 m
1
/
6

Project data

Location: Charleston, United States

Design as a cable-stayed bridge, the Arthur Ravenel Bridge utilizes two 175 m high piers at a distance of 472 m from each other, taking the load of the cable stay construction. The bridge which connects Charleston to Mount Pleasant over the Cooper River was steadily constructed in regular weekly cycles using the PERI ACS self-climbing system, lifting four working levels together with the formwork without the use of a crane. Also, VARIO girder wall formwork was used during the 4-year construction project, which resulted in a carriageway height of 61 m and 4 km length. 

Requirements

  • variable dimensions of the pylon legs of a max. 9.14 m x 7.92 m at the pylon base up to min. 5.47 m x 4.87 m at the top
  • the wall thickness of the pylons changes several times across the whole height
  • short build time
  • high logistical requirements
  • high quality requirements on concrete finish and dimensional accuracy
  • consideration of high wind speeds

Customer

Joint Venture:
Tidewater/Skanska USA Inc. and
HBG Constructors Inc./Flatiron Structures Company

Customer's benefit

  • detailed working rhythm definition
  • concreting cycles of 7 days per section in the lower area to 4-5 days in the upper area above the angle of inclination
  • Simple operation thanks to hydraulically operated formwork carriages
  • Saving on crane capacities
Peo Halvarsson, Senior Site Manager: Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, Charleston, USA
Peo Halvarsson
Senior Site Manager

Early experiences and the excellent working relationship with the PERI engineers made it an easy decision when it came to our choice of formwork supplier. With the PERI solution we have a formwork system on the site that enables us to work quickly and at a high quality.

PERI solution

  • efficient formwork concept with self-climbing formwork ACS and VARIO GT 24
  • assembly, fitting and modification of ACS platforms at the assembly site with subsequent transport by boat to the pylons
  • 50-m-long catwalks between pylon legs

PERI systems in use