Lupu Bridge

Coordinates: 31 ° 11 ′ 29 "  N , 121 ° 28 ′ 33"  E

Lupu Bridge
Crossing of	Huangpu River
place	Shanghai , People's Republic of China
construction	Arch bridge
overall length	3900 m
width	28.7 m
Longest span	550 m
height	100 m
Clear height	50 m
building-costs	300 million euros
start of building	2000
completion	2003
opening	June 28, 2003
location

The Lupu Bridge ( Chinese  卢 浦 大桥 , Pinyin Lúpǔ Dàqiáo ) over the Huangpu River in the Luwan District in the center of Shanghai , PR China was with an arch span of 550 m until the completion of the Chaotianmen-Yangtse Bridge in Chongqing at the end of 2008 (opening on April 29, 2009) the world's largest arch bridge . The apex has a height of 100 m above the water level.

To build the steel arch, two provisional steel pillars were erected at the ends of the bridge, to which the arch was then suspended element by element in the cantilevered structure . Only when the arch was completed could this auxiliary bracing be removed.

With its official opening on June 28, 2003, it dethroned the previous record holder completed in 1977, the New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville , West Virginia , USA , whose arches span 518 m. The total length of the Lupu Bridge with accesses is 3900 m, the construction costs amounted to around 2.5 billion yuan (about 300 million euros ).

The two arches of the bridge are designed as welded steel box girders that taper towards the apex and are inclined to the vertical so that the distance between the arches at the apex is significantly smaller than at the base points. 27 box-shaped crossbars are mounted between the arches. The roadway is suspended from the two arches.

In August 1999, the Shanghai City Council's construction department organized a competition to design the Lupu Bridge. A commission of 15 local bridge building experts, architects, economists, etc. a. assessed the submitted designs in December of the same year. Of the four shortlisted proposals, the design of an arched bridge made of steel and concrete with a drawstring , which had been submitted jointly by the “Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute” and the “Shanghai Urban Construction Design Institute”, was awarded the contract. The feasibility study was available in May 2000 and the final design in August. The "Shanghai Construction (Group) General Co." was awarded the contract to build the bridge. The Lupu Bridge is the first large bridge over the Huangpu that the city of Shanghai built on its own. The financing was taken over by private consortia, the city only pays a fixed annual sum, so that the bridge remains toll-free.

In addition to the aesthetic sight, the bridge has been offering a further attraction since April 28, 2006, an approx. 11 m by 20 m viewing platform on the highest point of the bridge. At each end of the bridge there is an elevator to the right and left of the street, which offers a view of the outside and gives pedestrians access to the bridge.

Visitors can quickly get from the river level to the 55 m high level of the carriageway. From the northeast elevator [on the left side of the river in the direction of flow], after buying a ticket, you can climb the northeast bridge arch from 8.30 a.m. to approx. 5.30 p.m. via 367 steps a further 45 m to the viewing platform 100 m above river level .

In 2008 the building and the architects and engineers responsible received the Outstanding Structure Award from IABSE .

Web links

Commons : Lupu Bridge  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Bernd Nebel: The Lu-Pu Bridge. In: Bridges - Architecture, Technology, History. Retrieved on April 23, 2014 (detailed description, with photos, including the construction of the bridge). 
• Lupu Bridge. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007 ; accessed on April 23, 2014 (construction data). 
• Gert Wiemeier: Viewing platform on the Lupu Bridge. In: Discover China. March 2009, accessed on April 23, 2014 (numerous technical details). 
• Lupu Bridge. In: Structurae

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Longest arch bridge will be completed this year. (No longer available online.) In: Arch Bridges. College of Civil Engineering, Fuzhou University, China, archived from the original on April 8, 2010 ; Retrieved April 23, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ Chongqing Chaotianmen Yangtze River Bridge, designed by CCRDI, opens to the traffic. (No longer available online.) April 29, 2009, archived from the original on December 28, 2017 ; Retrieved April 23, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Gert Wiemeier: Viewing platform on the Lupu Bridge. (No longer available online.) In: Discover China. March 2009, archived from the original on January 16, 2013 ; Retrieved April 23, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.