ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: The New Carquinez Bridge (NCB), a newly built long-span suspension bridge, is located 32 km northeast of San Francisco on interstate Highway I-80. With a main span of 728 m and side spans of 147 m and 181 m, the NCB is the first major suspension bridge built in the United States since the 1960s. The design and construction of the NCB incorporates several innovative structural features that have never been used previously for a suspension bridge in the USA, namely (1) orthotropic (aerodynamic) steel deck; (2) reinforced concrete towers; and (3) large-diameter drilled shaft foundations. The NCB is also the first suspension bridge in the world with concrete towers in a high seismic zone.
