FACULTY OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT

BACHELOR OF QUANTITY SURVEYING (HONOURS)

ACADEMIC YEAR 2020/2021

SEMESTER 3
BTBE2023 CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION
TECHNOLOGY

GROUP ASSIGNMENT

Assignment CLO
No. Student Name ID. No.
Mark
1. Chong Han Xian 20WVR12764 /100 CLO1

2. Chong Kim Yu 20WVR12766 /100 CLO1

3. Low Xin Wei 20WVR12823 /100 CLO1

4. Loy Xiao Yi 20WVR12825 /100 CLO1

5. Yap Lai Sian 20WVR12895 /100 CLO1

PROGRAMME : Bachelor of Quantity Surveying

GROUP :7

LECTURER : Ts. Gunalaan A/L Vasudevan

TUTOR : Pn. Hidayu Murni Abu Hussain

DATE OF SUBMISSION : 15 March 2021

 Coursework Declaration

Semester: 2020/2021 Semester 3 Course Code & Title: BTBE2023 CIVIL

ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY

Declaration

I/We confirm that I/we have read and shall comply with all the terms and
condition of Tunku Abdul Rahman University College’s plagiarism policy.

I/We declare that this assignment is free from all forms of plagiarism and for all
intents and purposes is my/our own properly derived work.

I/We further confirm that the same work, where appropriate, has been verified by
anti-plagiarism software SafeAssign (please insert).

No. Name Signature Date

1. Chong Han Xian

2. Chong Kim Yu

3. Low Xin Wei

4. Loy Xiao Yi

5. Yap Lai Sian

 TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
FACULTY OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT
YEAR 2 SEMESTER 3 2020/2021

Programme: RQS 2 Group: 7

Topic : Bridges Name of Tutor: Pn Hidayu Murni Abu Hussain

Date Submitted: 15 March 2021 Group Leader: Loy Xiao Yi

Total Marks
Name of Student Registration No. Group Marks Individual Marks
50 Marks 100 Marks
1. Chong Han Xian 20WVR12764 /20 /30

2. Chong Kim Yu 20WVR12766 /20 /30

3. Low Xin Wei 20WVR12823 /20 /30

4. Loy Xiao Yi 20WVR12825 /20 /30

5. Yap Lai Sian 20WVR12895 /20 /30

BTBE 2023 CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY SEMESTER 3 2020/2021

 TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
FACULTY OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT
YEAR 2 SEMESTER 3 2020/2021
BTBE 2023 CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY

Group Assignment Marks

Assessment Criteria
1 Introduction, background
information, conclusion &
identification of
technological applications,
and apply appropriate
technologies for solving
problems
10
Excellent
Interesting introduction &
knowledge on the construction
technology for civil engineering
works
Correct identification of.
construction methods, materials
and processes of civil
engineering works
8 6
Good
Good introduction &
background on the
construction technology for
civil engineering works
Able to identify most of the
construction methods,
materials and processes of civil
engineering works
Average
Introduction & background on
the construction technology for
civil engineering works can be
improved.
Able to identify most of the
construction methods, materials
and processes of civil
engineering works
4 Marks
Poor Awarded
Introduction & on the
construction technology
for civil engineering works
very brief & sketch.
Unable to identify most of
construction methods,
materials and processes of
civil engineering works.

Well written conclusion on Logical conclusion on findings. Able to conclude on findings. No conclusion.
findings.

2 Report Presentation –
Format & Arrangement
❑ Content is systematically
presented.
❑ Tables/diagrams are
properly labelled &
annotated.
❑ Proper references provided
❑ Content is systematically
presented
❑ Tables/diagrams are
properly labelled &
annotated.
❑ References provided but
with minor mistakes
❑ The content hasn't ❑ The content hasn't
systematically presented systematically
❑ Tables/diagrams are not presented
properly labelled or ❑ No tables/diagrams
annotated. are provided.
❑ References provided but ❑ No references
with major mistakes provided.

Total marks (20%)

BTBE 2023 CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY SEMESTER 3 2020/2021

 TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
FACULTY OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT
YEAR 2 SEMESTER 3 2020/2021
Individual Report - Member Name : Chong Han Xian

Assessment 6 4 2 1 Marks
Criteria Excellent Good Average Poor Awarded
1 Speech ❑ Confident speech with fluent ❑ Need some improvement ❑ Need improvement on a lot ❑ Must improve
English of aspect , more practice proficiency in English
needed
2 Content ❑ Understood the content, ❑ Understood the content, know ❑ Content provided, but ❑ Do not show
know what he is presenting. what he is presenting. insufficient to paint the understanding about the
❑ Content clearly and ❑ Content presented, need some whole picture or certain content or inaccurate
systematic presented. improvement on organisation. information need information given
❑ Accurate information verification.
provided. ❑ Or too much of information
3 Visual Aid ❑ Able to use technology or ❑ Able to use technology or ❑ Visual aid provided, but ❑ Did not prepare any
additional Civil Engineering additional Civil Engineering wrong choice. visual aid
in presenting ideas in presenting ideas. ❑ Need improvement on the
❑ Use of visual aid tactfully ❑ Need improvement on the visual aid prepared
❑ Effectively use of visual aid visual aid prepared.
4 Q&A ❑ Able to listen and understood ❑ Able to listen and understood ❑ Understood the audience ❑ Do not understand the
the audience’s question the audience question question clearly. audience question
❑ Able to feedback to audience ❑ Need only some time to sort ❑ Not prepare how to answer ❑ Not answering the
clearly, systematically and out the answer, but still able the audience. audience question
precisely. to feedback. ❑ Difficult to express the idea.
❑ Able to ‘negotiate’ with ❑ Attempted to ‘negotiate’ with
participant [ant and comes audience.
into agreement. ❑ Able to express oneself
clearly and precisely.

5 Appearance ❑ Effectively capture audience ❑ Occasionally capture audience ❑ Only occasionally have eye ❑ No eye contact with
attention attention contact with audience, but audience.
❑ Dress appropriately ❑ Dress appropriately too busy to read aloud from ❑ Do not dress
notes. appropriately
Total marks (30%)

BTBE 2023 CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY SEMESTER 3 2020/2021

 TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
FACULTY OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT
YEAR 2 SEMESTER 3 2020/2021
Individual Report - Member Name : Chong Kim Yu

Assessment 6 4 2 1 Marks
Criteria Excellent Good Average Poor Awarded
1 Speech ❑ Confident speech with fluent ❑ Need some improvement ❑ Need improvement on a lot ❑ Must improve
English of aspect , more practice proficiency in English
needed
2 Content ❑ Understood the content, ❑ Understood the content, know ❑ Content provided, but ❑ Do not show
know what he is presenting. what he is presenting. insufficient to paint the understanding about the
❑ Content clearly and ❑ Content presented, need some whole picture or certain content or inaccurate
systematic presented. improvement on organisation. information need information given
❑ Accurate information verification.
provided. ❑ Or too much of information
3 Visual Aid ❑ Able to use technology or ❑ Able to use technology or ❑ Visual aid provided, but ❑ Did not prepare any
additional Civil Engineering additional Civil Engineering wrong choice. visual aid
in presenting ideas in presenting ideas. ❑ Need improvement on the
❑ Use of visual aid tactfully ❑ Need improvement on the visual aid prepared
❑ Effectively use of visual aid visual aid prepared.
4 Q&A ❑ Able to listen and understood ❑ Able to listen and understood ❑ Understood the audience ❑ Do not understand the
the audience’s question the audience question question clearly. audience question
❑ Able to feedback to audience ❑ Need only some time to sort ❑ Not prepare how to answer ❑ Not answering the
clearly, systematically and out the answer, but still able the audience. audience question
precisely. to feedback. ❑ Difficult to express the idea.
❑ Able to ‘negotiate’ with ❑ Attempted to ‘negotiate’ with
participant [ant and comes audience.
into agreement. ❑ Able to express oneself
clearly and precisely.

5 Appearance ❑ Effectively capture audience ❑ Occasionally capture audience ❑ Only occasionally have eye ❑ No eye contact with
attention attention contact with audience, but audience.
❑ Dress appropriately ❑ Dress appropriately too busy to read aloud from ❑ Do not dress
notes. appropriately
Total marks (30%)

BTBE 2023 CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY SEMESTER 3 2020/2021

 TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
FACULTY OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT
YEAR 2 SEMESTER 3 2020/2021
Individual Report - Member Name : Low Xin Wei

Assessment 6 4 2 1 Marks
Criteria Excellent Good Average Poor Awarded
1 Speech ❑ Confident speech with fluent ❑ Need some improvement ❑ Need improvement on a lot ❑ Must improve
English of aspect , more practice proficiency in English
needed
2 Content ❑ Understood the content, ❑ Understood the content, know ❑ Content provided, but ❑ Do not show
know what he is presenting. what he is presenting. insufficient to paint the understanding about the
❑ Content clearly and ❑ Content presented, need some whole picture or certain content or inaccurate
systematic presented. improvement on organisation. information need information given
❑ Accurate information verification.
provided. ❑ Or too much of information
3 Visual Aid ❑ Able to use technology or ❑ Able to use technology or ❑ Visual aid provided, but ❑ Did not prepare any
additional Civil Engineering additional Civil Engineering wrong choice. visual aid
in presenting ideas in presenting ideas. ❑ Need improvement on the
❑ Use of visual aid tactfully ❑ Need improvement on the visual aid prepared
❑ Effectively use of visual aid visual aid prepared.
4 Q&A ❑ Able to listen and understood ❑ Able to listen and understood ❑ Understood the audience ❑ Do not understand the
the audience’s question the audience question question clearly. audience question
❑ Able to feedback to audience ❑ Need only some time to sort ❑ Not prepare how to answer ❑ Not answering the
clearly, systematically and out the answer, but still able the audience. audience question
precisely. to feedback. ❑ Difficult to express the idea.
❑ Able to ‘negotiate’ with ❑ Attempted to ‘negotiate’ with
participant [ant and comes audience.
into agreement. ❑ Able to express oneself
clearly and precisely.

5 Appearance ❑ Effectively capture audience ❑ Occasionally capture audience ❑ Only occasionally have eye ❑ No eye contact with
attention attention contact with audience, but audience.
❑ Dress appropriately ❑ Dress appropriately too busy to read aloud from ❑ Do not dress
notes. appropriately
Total marks (30%)

BTBE 2023 CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY SEMESTER 3 2020/2021

 TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
FACULTY OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT
YEAR 2 SEMESTER 3 2020/2021
Individual Report - Member Name : Loy Xiao Yi

Assessment 6 4 2 1 Marks
Criteria Excellent Good Average Poor Awarded
1 Speech ❑ Confident speech with fluent ❑ Need some improvement ❑ Need improvement on a lot ❑ Must improve
English of aspect , more practice proficiency in English
needed
2 Content ❑ Understood the content, ❑ Understood the content, know ❑ Content provided, but ❑ Do not show
know what he is presenting. what he is presenting. insufficient to paint the understanding about the
❑ Content clearly and ❑ Content presented, need some whole picture or certain content or inaccurate
systematic presented. improvement on organisation. information need information given
❑ Accurate information verification.
provided. ❑ Or too much of information
3 Visual Aid ❑ Able to use technology or ❑ Able to use technology or ❑ Visual aid provided, but ❑ Did not prepare any
additional Civil Engineering additional Civil Engineering wrong choice. visual aid
in presenting ideas in presenting ideas. ❑ Need improvement on the
❑ Use of visual aid tactfully ❑ Need improvement on the visual aid prepared
❑ Effectively use of visual aid visual aid prepared.
4 Q&A ❑ Able to listen and understood ❑ Able to listen and understood ❑ Understood the audience ❑ Do not understand the
the audience’s question the audience question question clearly. audience question
❑ Able to feedback to audience ❑ Need only some time to sort ❑ Not prepare how to answer ❑ Not answering the
clearly, systematically and out the answer, but still able the audience. audience question
precisely. to feedback. ❑ Difficult to express the idea.
❑ Able to ‘negotiate’ with ❑ Attempted to ‘negotiate’ with
participant [ant and comes audience.
into agreement. ❑ Able to express oneself
clearly and precisely.

5 Appearance ❑ Effectively capture audience ❑ Occasionally capture audience ❑ Only occasionally have eye ❑ No eye contact with
attention attention contact with audience, but audience.
❑ Dress appropriately ❑ Dress appropriately too busy to read aloud from ❑ Do not dress
notes. appropriately
Total marks (30%)

BTBE 2023 CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY SEMESTER 3 2020/2021

 TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
FACULTY OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT
YEAR 2 SEMESTER 3 2020/2021
Individual Report - Member Name : Yap Lai Sian

Assessment 6 4 2 1 Marks
Criteria Excellent Good Average Poor Awarded
1 Speech ❑ Confident speech with fluent ❑ Need some improvement ❑ Need improvement on a lot ❑ Must improve
English of aspect , more practice proficiency in English
needed
2 Content ❑ Understood the content, ❑ Understood the content, know ❑ Content provided, but ❑ Do not show
know what he is presenting. what he is presenting. insufficient to paint the understanding about the
❑ Content clearly and ❑ Content presented, need some whole picture or certain content or inaccurate
systematic presented. improvement on organisation. information need information given
❑ Accurate information verification.
provided. ❑ Or too much of information
3 Visual Aid ❑ Able to use technology or ❑ Able to use technology or ❑ Visual aid provided, but ❑ Did not prepare any
additional Civil Engineering additional Civil Engineering wrong choice. visual aid
in presenting ideas in presenting ideas. ❑ Need improvement on the
❑ Use of visual aid tactfully ❑ Need improvement on the visual aid prepared
❑ Effectively use of visual aid visual aid prepared.
4 Q&A ❑ Able to listen and understood ❑ Able to listen and understood ❑ Understood the audience ❑ Do not understand the
the audience’s question the audience question question clearly. audience question
❑ Able to feedback to audience ❑ Need only some time to sort ❑ Not prepare how to answer ❑ Not answering the
clearly, systematically and out the answer, but still able the audience. audience question
precisely. to feedback. ❑ Difficult to express the idea.
❑ Able to ‘negotiate’ with ❑ Attempted to ‘negotiate’ with
participant [ant and comes audience.
into agreement. ❑ Able to express oneself
clearly and precisely.

5 Appearance ❑ Effectively capture audience ❑ Occasionally capture audience ❑ Only occasionally have eye ❑ No eye contact with
attention attention contact with audience, but audience.
❑ Dress appropriately ❑ Dress appropriately too busy to read aloud from ❑ Do not dress
notes. appropriately
Total marks (30%)

BTBE 2023 CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY SEMESTER 3 2020/2021

Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1

2.0 Background Information .................................................................................................. 2

2.1 Basic Components of Bridge ......................................................................................... 2

2.2 Types of Bridges ............................................................................................................ 3

3.0 Factors Affecting the Selection of Bridge Type ............................................................... 5

4.0 Bridge Construction Equipment and Materials.............................................................. 6

4.1 Equipment ...................................................................................................................... 6

4.2 Materials ........................................................................................................................ 8

5.0 Building Process ................................................................................................................. 9

5.1 Bridge Constriction Planning......................................................................................... 9

5.2 Construction of Bridge Components ............................................................................. 9

5.3 Inspection and Finishing Touches ............................................................................... 12

6.0 Method of Bridge Construction ...................................................................................... 13

6.1 Cast In-situ Method...................................................................................................... 13

6.2 Incremental Launching Method ................................................................................... 13

6.3 Precast Method............................................................................................................. 14

6.4 Heavy Lifting System .................................................................................................. 14

6.5 Segmental Bridge Construction Method ...................................................................... 15

6.5.1 Span by Span Method ......................................................................................... 15

6.5.2 Balanced Cantilever Method............................................................................... 15

6.6 Cable-stayed Method ................................................................................................... 16

6.7 Suspension Bridge System ........................................................................................... 17

6.8 Arch Method ................................................................................................................ 17

7.0 Case Study on Penang Second Bridge............................................................................ 18

7.1 Project Summary .......................................................................................................... 18

7.2 Bridge design ............................................................................................................... 19

 7.3 Construction of Penang Second Bridge ........................................................................ 20

7.4 Consideration and Advantages on Bridge Design ........................................................ 21

7.5 Components of Substructures and Superstructures ...................................................... 22

7.5.1 Substructure ......................................................................................................... 22

7.5.2 Superstructure ...................................................................................................... 24

8.0 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 25

9.0 References ......................................................................................................................... 26

Appendix A: Overview of Penang Second Bridge .................................................................. 31

Appendix B: Project Team of Penang Second Bridge ............................................................. 32

Appendix C: Load Transmission of Cable-stayed Bridge (main span) ................................... 33

Appendix D: Construction Process of Penang Second Bridge ................................................ 35

1.0 Introduction

The oldest bridge in Malaysia, a railway bridge, has been constructed between
December 1897 and March 1900 by the Perak Government Railways as a crossing over the
Perak River for the purpose to serve local tin mining industry. In September 1985, one of the
most honourable construction in Malaysia, the Penang Bridge has been complete constructed
with a total length of 13.5 km with 8.4 km of it was over the water (Institution of Civil
Engineering 2018). On 1st March 2014, another bridge that listed as the longest bridge in
Malaysia, The Second Penang Bridge were opens and ready to in-use, it has a total of 24 km
in length with 16.9 km over the water, it was expected to ease the traffic by 25% and it could
last for at least the next 120 years (Zurairi 2014).

As mentioned above, there are dozens upon dozens of bridges are being construct
nowadays, it was not surprise that you could see bridges anywhere on the road, between the
mountains, or even across the ocean. Bridge plays a very important role in the development of
a country from past until now, a country would have a slow development without the invention
of bridge because of the difficulty of connect to the other side of the land. Compare to others
vehicle like boat, bridge provide ease of travel over the obstacles, it allows human, animal, or
goods travel to other side easier.

What is the definition of bridge? Bridge is an artificial structure built to connect and
creates bonding between two disconnected parts without blocking or closing the underneath, it
is constructed for the purpose of allow people or vehicles cross over the obstacle such as river,
road, or valley (Balasubramanian 2017).

In this research, we have concentrated on few important categories that shall know by
the audience about the bridge construction, which are:

➢ Basic components of bridge,

➢ Factor of choosing a bridge,
➢ Equipment & Materials
➢ Method of construct a bridge, and
➢ Construction Process

To ensure we provide an accurate information to our audience, we had done a lot of

research and refer to articles which are reliable, we believe this research could assist the
audience to have a more understanding on the bridge construction technology.

1
2.0 Background Information
The construction of bridge is very often complicated and difficult along the whole
construction period, even at the preliminary stage which includes the selection of best type of
bridge to construct is very time-consuming. While the construction is in-progress, it would also
affect the existing traffics and normal life in the particulars area especially if it required on-site
works. Other than that, all the substantial works in form of tests are required before any actual
construction, for examples soil test, velocity, wind speed and others.

2.1 Basic Components of Bridge

Since there are a lot of things to be consider before construct a bridge, architects and
engineers have tried to develop better techniques for the gaps spanning between two point to
minimize or prevent any kind of risk after the completion of bridge, and to maximize the
suitability of bridge to any status of environment at the construction site. Finally, the entire
engineering field was formed, lots and lots of bridges designs were created with uses of many
brand-new technology, parts and components that describe them (History of Bridge n.d.).

Supporting system

Diagram 1: Components of Bridge

The diagram above shows the components that basically used to build a bridge in the
construction, a bridge can mainly separate into two parts which is Superstructure and
Substructure.

Superstructure of the bridge is to describe those part of structure which bear and
support the load over it deck, slab, and girders including vehicles passing load. We could also
define all those components above the supporting system as superstructure in a simple way.

Substructure of the bridge was expected to support superstructure and transfer loads
of the structure to the foundation and spread it to the ground.

2
Basic Components of the Bridge:

❖ Girder / Beam: The part of superstructure under bending along the span and support
the deck.
❖ Deck : Floor of the bridge, it transfers loads to beam/ girders depends on
decking material.
❖ Bearing : It placed between girder and pier to transfer the loads from
superstructure to substructure, it allows horizontal movement of deck caused by thermal
expansion or contraction, and allow rotation caused by deflections.
❖ Pier : A compression member which stay above the pile to support the
superstructure and divide bridge span into suitable length. Its main function is to
transfer loads to the foundation and resist horizontal forces.
❖ Pier Caps : Pier cap provide sufficient seating for the beams/ girders and allow
transfer of load from superstructure to the pier.
❖ Truss : A connected triangles that formed a framework to share load and stress
forces across the entire bridge.
❖ Abutment : The support provided at two ends of bridges with reinforced so they
can suffer fierce lateral pressures.

2.2 Types of Bridges

There are many types of bridge and different technique to construct it in the
construction industry, different types of bridges are used in different situation or scenario to
ensure the bridge could function and works properly as how it was designed to.

Bridge Type Description

Arch Bridge • This bridge has abutments at each end which weight of
the bridge thrust into it.
• Arch bridges are made with one or more hinges
depends on the load and stress it takes.
• It was made with stone in the past and has great natural
Diagram 2: Arch Bridge
strength. Nowadays, it is made of steel or concrete and
can span up to 800 feet.

3
Beam Bridge
Diagram 3: Beam Bridge
Truss Bridge
Diagram 4: Truss Bridge
• The oldest and simplest bridge design
• Consisting vertical piers and horizontal beams.
• Suitable for shot spans but adding additional piers allow for
larger crossing.
• Consist a series of straight steel bars in triangles shape.
• Trusses give stable form of supporting external loads over a
large span.
• A single-span truss carries loads by bending, bending lead to
compression at the top chords, tension to the bottom chords.

Cantilever Bridge • A bridge built with cantilever, structures that project

horizontally into space and only one end was supported.
• With suitable materials, it could span well over 460m.

Diagram 5: Cantilever • This type of bridge usually used for trains, motor vehicles and
Bridge pedestrian.
Cable-Stayed Bridge • The cables run from the roadway up to a tower where they
secured.
• It could have one or more tower along the bridge.
• More economical for a long span bridge, a special construction

Diagram 6: Cable-Stayed technique was developed for this type of bridge and it made
Bridge possible new high strength materials.

Advantages Types of Bridge Disadvantages

- Very strong - Limited span unless multiple
- Can be built from wide range of Arch Bridge arches used
materials - Uneconomical use of materials
- Very easy to construct - Limited span
- Inexpensive relative to other Beam Bridge - Not allow large vehicles pass
types underneath
- Strong - Hard to construct
Truss Bridge
- Efficient use of materials - High level of maintenance

4
 Advantages Types of Bridge Disadvantages
- Easy to construct the difficult Cantilever - Complex Structures and hard to
Bridge
crossings maintain
- Can Span up to 1000m - Expensive
- Can be constructed by Cable-Stayed - Specialist construction method
Bridge
cantilevering out from tower and plant required

3.0 Factors Affecting the Selection of Bridge Type

Understanding the problems or issues facing before construct the bridge is very
important and it helps a lot in select the best suitability bridge in the construction. Firstly, the
economic issues shall be put into consideration, if the client does not have enough budgets, the
type of bridge to construct shall not be very complex and expensive to build. Secondly, the
ease of construction will also affect the choice, whether the construction progress would suffer
any difficulty in transporting the materials; or the assembly of the bridge would be difficult or
easy, these should be determined before the construction stage (Ida 2016).

Not only that, where was the site located at and how was the condition over there must
be survey and observe. If the site were over the ocean, what is the best type of bridge shall be
construct? How would the traffic flow be affected during the construction progress if it were
above a highway or a main road? How was the soil condition of the site? All of this will affect
the selection of bridge to be construct (Mohd Saidin Misnan 2011). Loads to be carry by the
bridge must be consider too to avoid the collapse of bridge due to over carried of loads, loads
mentioned here included the live load, dead load, and environment load (Jonathan et al. 2021).

Protection of the nature environment has gradually been emphasized by the government
nowadays, developer shall take considering about the impact to the environment and strive as
much as possible to minimize or reduce the impact to the marine life. All issues mentioned was
just the tip of the iceberg, there will be a lot of issues and factors to be consider in real practice,
the construction team should choose very astute to best suit the condition of the site to minimize
the error occur.

5
4.0 Bridge Construction Equipment and Materials
4.1 Equipment

The following equipment are applied to construct the substructure components of bridge
include Abutments, Piers, Footings, Back walls, Beam seats, Cheek walls and Piles:

A) Hydraulic Rotary Drill Rigs (Figure 1)

• Drill to remove the soil for piling.
B) Mobile Truck Crane (Figure 2)
• Lift up the reinforcement steel cage from truck then lower down into the excavation.
C) Tremie Chute (Figure 3)
• To prevent cement washout from mixture by underground water when pouring concrete
below ground level.
D) Hydraulic Vibratory Hammer (Figure 4)
• Install and remove hollow steel casing or cofferdam sheet piles.
E) Portable Concrete Mixer (Figure 5)
• Combine water, cement and aggregate such as gravel or sand to form concrete.
F) Formwork (Figure 6)
• A mould for concrete structural components such as pier and pile cap.

Figure 1: Hydraulic Rotary Figure 2: Mobile Truck Crane Figure 3: Mobile

Drill Rigs Tremie Chute

Figure 4: Hydraulic Vibratory Figure 5: Portable Figure 6: Formwork of Pier

Hammer Concrete Mixer

6
There are a lot of cranes are used to construct the superstructure components of bridge include
Beams, Bearings, Curbs, Deck, Deck wearing surface, Floor beams, Girders, Parapets,
Sidewalks, Traffic barriers and Trusses. For example:
A) Tower Cranes (Figure 7)
• A common crane used for high rise building or major construction site, it used to lift up
the heavy loads of precast structure member to high and tight spaces.
B) Gantry Cranes (Figure 8)
• Lift up heavy industrial devices or precast structure component of bridge such as bridge
deck or beam while being supported by two frame rigid steel legs that rest on the floor.
(Construction Machinery, 2020)
C) Launching gantry (Figure 9)
• Lift up and support the bridge component to keep it in place while being supported by a
pier instead of the ground.
D) Floating Cranes (Figure 10)
• A type of vessel which has a crane installed on it, these vessels can lift and manipulate
heavy component into place. (Construction Machinery, 2020)
E) Barge (Figure 11)
• Transport equipment, material, or precast structure to the construction location.

Figure 7: Tower Cranes Figure 8: Gantry Cranes Figure 9: Launching Gantry

Figure 10: Floating Cranes Figure 11: Barge

7
4.2 Materials
Concrete
Concrete is a flexible material which mostly used to build structural members of many
buildings, including the structural members of bridges as well. For example, beams, decks,
abutment, beam seat and piers with similar components can be made by concrete. It can also
be used in the form of precast or cast-in-situ concrete piles to support the superstructure
members (Matt Miller n.d.).

Steel
Steel is used in the bridge structure for the reinforcing bars in concrete, in order to increase the
strength of concrete and to support the entire bridge load (Matt Miller n.d.). Besides of making
use as reinforcement bars, it can also be applied for structural members of bridge. For instance,
it is suitable for construction of long span bridge because it has a high and most favourable
strength qualities.

Iron
Before 1900, iron was commonly used in constructing beams and trusses. The cast iron is ideal
for the construction of arch bridges due to it has a high resistance to compression (Constro
Facilitator 2020). However, following the discovery of steel has a higher tensile strength and
less brittle than iron, thus the iron was replaced by steel nowadays (Matt Miller n.d.).

Stone
Stone was commonly used to build the abutments and piers of bridges in the 1940s and earlier.
This is because the stones in the local wild can be seen everywhere and always readily available.
A bridge which builds with stone can be durable and can be constructed up to 150m of span
(Haseeb Jamal 2017).

Rubber
Rubber products are used for expansion joint and bearings material.

Asphalt
Asphalt is a material that used for the wearing surfaces on bridge decks to form a pavement
and road.

8
5.0 Building Process
The success of infrastructure project depends upon how the construction activities or
process are managed from conception until the last stage of completion. Building a bridge is a
long and complex process. In order to extend a bridge’s lifespan into future for decades, a
proper and attentive detailed planning is required in every aspect of its design and construction.
The building process of bridge involve three main stages which are the bridge construction
planning, construction of bridge and the last is inspection and finishing touches.

5.1 Bridge Constriction Planning

Bridge construction is usually tends to involve huge projects which require the
utilization of skills related to several engineering disciplines including civil, geology, electrical,
mechanical and computer science (Bright Hub Engineering 2009). During the bridge
construction planning, various survey will be conducted by engineers such as traffic studies,
geotechnical and hydrotechnical studies, environmental considerations, bridge selection and
detailed design. At this stage, the engineers will invest a lot of time and resources for the
planning of bridge to ensure the construction can achieves its purpose.

The first investigation would be the selection of site to be built. The collection of
adequate ground data, subsoil investigation and detailed ground reconnaissance are the
mandatory part of survey for deciding the best possible placement and the most suitable type
of bridge to be construct (Civil Engineering Knowledge n.d.). It is also necessary to carry out
the traffic studies to determine the amount of traffic that will utilize the bridge which plan to
construct, this process is compulsory to figure out the economic feasibility. On the design stage,
the engineers will need to consider the weight or load types that the bridge will encounter for
a long period of time (Dickinson 2017), these factors will influence the choice of material to
be used for construction of bridge as well as the suitable type of structure to withstand the loads
(e.g. dead load, live load, dynamic load).

The construction stage will commence only after the plan regarding all project details
has been well-prepared, which include the characteristics of desired bridge type, requirement
of resources, site details and more.

9
5.2 Construction of Bridge Components

A) Setting of foundation

The laying of base with sufficient strength for supporting the bridge is significant to
begin with the process of construction. First and foremost, a foundation will be set into the
ground for piers to be built upon. It could be construct over deep water or over the land, which
depends upon the location of bridge. For the foundation over deep water such as sea or river,
the caissons (watertight retaining structure) will be lowered into the water in order to create a
platform and dam for a concrete tower to be formed; while for the bridge over the land, the
piles will be drilled into the ground for creating a platform that allow the towers to be built on
top (Lior Zitzman 2018). This step would be very difficult as it involves a lot of technique and
qualified human resources is required to handle this work.

Figure 12: Figure 13: Excavation of Figure 14: Concreting

Implementation of piles opening for sole / pile cap of sole/ pile cap

After the implementation of the piles, it will proceed to the excavation of opening for
soles (pile cap or footing). Before that, there is a need to demolish the heads of piles to reach
the low level of the soles and this operation is called the coppicing of piles. When the coppicing
and opening of soles has prepared according to dimension, the soles will start to be built with
concrete and reinforcement works by following the design approved (Gc-kader 2018). The
soles/pile caps are often constructed of very heavy concrete to provide maximum strength to
upper part of the bridge and distribute the loads of structure into all piles below.

Figure 15: Coppicing of pile Figure 16: Reinforcement of sole

10
B) Construction of Substructure Elements

Once the foundation has been constructed, the substructure parts such as the abutments,
piers and pier caps will begin to be installed. The abutments are the vertical supports member
which to build at the bridge’s approaching ends and functioning as retention walls for the
ground (Mitchell 2017). Afterwards, the piers will be built upon the soles/pile caps. The
function of piers is to act as the intermediate vertical elements to support the deck of bridge
and transmit the loads to foundation. These vertical supports are usually built from reinforced
concrete and should be capable of withstanding the high levels of horizontal force of bridge.
Next, the pier caps with pedestal will be set up on the piers. It is design to distribute
concentrated loads evenly on the area of the piers and also to provide sufficient space for girders
to transfer loads on bearings from the superstructure components.

Figure 17: Reinforcement of Abutment Figure 18: Completed Abutment

Figure 19: Pier to be built upon sole Figure 20: Pier Cap with pedestal

C) Construction of Superstructure Elements

When all the substructures have completely constructed, it will proceed to the
superstructures part which include bearings, girders, decks and barriers. First of all, the
bearings are a critical element within overall bridge system and it is a boundary between
substructure and superstructure to transfer loads from deck to substructure. There are many
types of bearing can be developed which fundamentally to provide efficient and economical
ways to accommodate various levels of load and movement that influence by the design of
bridge (National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine 2013). For example, it
could be elastomeric bearings, sliding bearings or high-load multirotational bearings.

11
 Subsequently, the girders will be built horizontally to link all the pier caps by extending
over them. It is also referred as beams to give support for the deck on top. To improve the stress
and load resistibility, the girders is usually provided with truss design, thus the pressure can be
passed towards the foundation quicker. Moreover, it can build in a single span or even multiple
spans and they are mostly constructed by metal or concrete. Furthermore, it is mostly
constructed by metal or concrete and can be built in a single span or even multiple spans.

Figure 21: Installation of girders Figure 22: Installation of deck

Eventually, the bridge deck will be cast on top of girders, acting either compositely or
non-compositely with the superstructure supporting elements. The primary function of decks
is to allow a safe riding surface for traffic and ensuring direct structural support of wheel loads
(BBR Network 2017). There are several types of decks which applied depends on the method
of bridges to be constructed. The most common bridge deck systems include the cast-in-situ
concrete deck, precast concrete deck and metal deck. The bridge deck can be act as travel or
walking paths, drainage systems, sidewalks, expansion system and more. Moreover, the
barriers will be constructed on the sides of bridge decks as a safety and protection feature, it
can be designed fixtures, rails, fences, concrete walls or other elements with better aesthetics.
Last but not least, the completed decks will be paved with smooth surface and furnished with
electrical and lighting system (Lior Zitzman 2018).

5.3 Inspection and Finishing Touches

The testing of completed bridge is essential and significant to ensure the structure is
firm and reliable to prevent any danger or safety issues in future. It is also to make sure the
bridge has met the quality standards. For instance, the use of bucket truck (snooper truck) is a
traditional method for undergoing the bridge inspection, it allows the inspectors to review the
conditions underneath the bridge (Flyability n.d.). Throughout the evaluation, the inspector will
look into for any defects such as concrete crack, issues with bearings and to verify there is no
movement in the bridge. Besides, there are also other several types or techniques of inspection
as well (e.g. Underwater inspection, damage inspection, fracture-critical member inspection).

12
6.0 Method of Bridge Construction
6.1 Cast In-situ Method
Cast in-situ method is a flexible technique that is suitable to be used when intricate
geometric shape of dams is involved in the design. This technique is also adopted when parts
of a bridge are unreachable due to its size or distant location.
One of the advantages of this method is that the heavy lifting or transporting equipment are
not required since the casting of superstructure is done in the required position. It is the best
method to construct a bridge in an inaccessible area or used for cost effective construction of
solid, voided or ribbed reinforced concrete slab bridges. Besides, the superstructure is safe from
transportation and lifting damages (Sadanandam Anupoju n.d.).
However, this method required more working days and a large number of skilled workers
as compared to the precast construction method. If the bridge is constructed over water bodies,
severe damage may occur to the unset concrete during flood conditions.

6.2 Incremental Launching Method

This method is the one in which cast in situ technique is adopted. It is a highly mechanized
method that is generally preferred for the construction of multi span post tensioned bridges or
when the decks of bridges are greater than 250 meter in length. A few of reasons for opting this
method include minimal disturbance to surroundings, maximum productivity, no falsework
required, reduced area for superstructure assembly, increased worker safety and suitable for
rapid construction of bridge.
The principle of this method consists of building the superstructure segments in a casting
yard located behind the bridge abutment. Each and every segment is matched cast against the
previous one and pre-stressed to the section of superstructure already built. The entire structure
is then jacked forward, temporary bearings are replaced by the permanent bearings and
repeated until the bridge is in its final position (Babasaheb Ambedkar 2020).

Figure 23: Incremental launching method Diagram 7: Structure of incremental

launching technique

13
6.3 Precast Method
As the name suggests, the concrete elements are cast in the warehouse before transported
to the site and assembled. Precast beams, precast decks and precast segmental decks are the
precast elements used in this method of bridge construction (Infrastructure consulting &
engineering 2019).
A few of the advantages of using precast elements are mainly related to fabrication, which
is conducted in a plant that produces more consistency in quality products. This method also
does not require any transverse beams or diaphragms. Due to this, construction companies
would not have to spend too much time and also save costs (Bygging-Uddemann 2018).
However, if this method of construction is chosen, it is imperative that the engineer has
clearly organized the construction schedule. This is because the speed of construction depends
on the delivery time of prefabricated elements. Furthermore, a sufficient area should be ready
to allow the elements to place and store (Gopal Mishra n.d.).

6.4 Heavy Lifting System

Heavy lifting is a specialist hydraulic cable lifting technique developed for exceptionally
heavy loads. This technique provides a particularly timely and economic solution for projects
based in modular construction methods and large, heavy, prefabricated elements. This
technique commonly used for lifting or lowering the heavy loads such as precast beams, entire
structural elements or falsework. Besides, it also used to lift bridges for repairing or exchanging
of bridge bearings for instance. In this case, the superstructure is lifted or lowered without
disturbing the traffic. In addition, the bridge structures can also be rotated or slid from the
assembly area to its final position by using heavy lifting system.

Figure 24: Heavy lifting system

14
6.5 Segmental Bridge Construction Method
Segmental bridge is constructed by piecing precast segments together which are hung by
travelling gantries. The building of the decks starts at one abutment and is constructed
continuously by placing segments to the other end of the bridge. Such bridges can be built by
span-by-span method or balanced cantilevers method and the main factors to be considered the
selection of method is depending on the weight of each segment and the length of span.
6.5.1 Span by Span Method
Span by span is a relatively new construction technique associated with cantilever
construction with many advancements. This method is considered as most economical and
rapid in construction and available for long bridges or viaducts with individual spans up to 60
metre (Gopal Mishra, n.d.).
The building of the decks starts at one abutment that continuously follows through placing
the segments to the other end of the bridge. Segments can be positioned by either temporary
staying mast system through more commonly using an assembly truss. The segments are
transported by lorry or barge to the span under construction then each segment is placed on the
sliding pads and slid into its position. Once all segments are in position the pier segment is then
placed. The final stage is then begun by running longitudinal prestressing tendons through
segments ducts and prestressing the entire span. Deck joints are then cast and closed and ducts
grouted. When the span is complete the assembly truss is lowered and moved to the next span
where construction cycle begins until the bridge is complete.

Diagram 8: Structure of span by span bridge construction method

6.5.2 Balanced Cantilever Method
This method is commonly used for constructing bridges across inaccessible areas such as
roads, rivers and terrains. Bridges spanning a distance of 50 to 250 metre, long span length
bridges, cable-stayed and irregular lengths can be best constructed with this method. The basic
concept of balanced cantilever construction method is to attach the segments in an alternate
manner at opposite ends of cantilevers supported by piers.

15
 In addition, parts of the bridge can either be cast in place or precast. However, cast in place
construction proves to be very beneficial when large and heavy segments are required to be
constructed. Besides, alignment variation and corrections are more easily accommodated in
cast in place construction (Madeh Izat Hamakareem n.d.).

Figure 25: Balanced cantilever bridge construction method

6.6 Cable-stayed Method

The technique of cable-stayed construction has been used and continually developed over
the last 50 years for the construction of bridges of more than 300 meters. Cable-stayed bridges
can be either concrete, steel or a combination of both. The deck segments can be either precast
or cast in-situ.
Depending on its design, the bridge decks are carried with the help of nearly straight cables
in tension from one or both sides of the supporting towers. The towers transfer the cable forces
to the foundations through vertical compression and the tensile forces in the cables will then
put the deck into horizontal compression (Gopal Mishra n.d.).
The construction of cable-stayed bridges begins with the sinking of caissons and the
erection of towers and anchorages. One cable and a section of the deck are constructed in each
direction after the tower is built. Each section of the deck is prestressed before continuing. The
process is repeated until the deck sections connect (Melissa Petruzzello 2020).

Diagram 9: Structure of cable stayed bridge

16
6.7 Suspension Bridge System
For longer spans which range between 750 to 2000 meter, suspension bridge is a common
method of bridge construction. As the name implies, suspension bridges suspend the roadway
by cables from two tall towers. The main forces in it are tension in the cables and compression
in the towers. The weight is transferred by the cable to the towers, then in turn transfer to the
anchorages on both ends of the bridge, then finally to the ground (Lin & Teruhiko Yuta 2017).
The process of building a suspension bridge begins with constructing the anchorages. They
typically require significant soil preparation, as well as large complex footings. Once the
anchorages are complete and secure, the cables are connected to the top of each support using
welded steel fasteners. The roadway is typically installed in sections using a crane, then
fastened to the cables for support (Emily Beach n.d.).

Diagram 10: Structure of suspension bridge

6.8 Arch Method
An arch bridge is a bridge shaped as an upward convex curved arch to sustain the vertical
loads. It transfers its weight and loads partially into horizontal thrust restrained by the strong
abutment at either side. Arch shaped bridge construction is one of the most economical choices
for bridge construction across rough, undulated or inaccessible terrain. Common spans for an
arched bridge ranges from 20 meters up to 100 meters. Concrete or precast concrete is generally
used in this method (Infrastructure consulting & engineering 2019).
The two main construction techniques most used today include the cast-in-situ free
cantilever method and slip formed sections. Cast in-situ free cantilever method involves the
partially built arch tied back to rock anchors in the valley side slope. For slip formed section
method, it involves half arch section being held vertically over each abutment and then rotating
each arch section into position. Tee-beams are generally used for arch bridge decks or their
functionally and self-weight (Gopal Mishra n.d.)

Diagram 11: Structure of arch bridge

17
 7.0 Case Study on Penang Second Bridge
7.1 Project Summary
Penang Second Bridge (Figure 26), officially known as Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam
Shah Bridge is a marine bridge with dual traffic lanes carriageway (2 lanes in each direction)
which connects Batu Maung on Penang Island with Batu Kawan on mainland (May refer to
Appendix A- Diagram 2). With a total length of 24km (16.9km over water), it has achieved
the record of longest bridge in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. Besides, it is the largest civil
engineering project in the past 20 years in Malaysia (Institution of Civil Engineers 2018). The
main purpose of introducing Penang Second Bridge is to reduce the traffic of Penang First
Bridge and wish to change Penang into a key coordination and transportation center (Road
Traffic Technology n.d.).

According to Zurairi AR (2014), JKSB construction director has been explained that
the curvy design of Penang Second Bridge (Figure 27) was deliberately chosen as a precaution
step to avoid traffic accidents. This is because drivers will not get drowsy and over-speed
driving, in contrast, they tend to concentrate more for all the way long. Due to the reality of
lack of funds, the plan for two viewing platforms completed with restaurants (Figure 28) was
cancelled as it requires another RM600 million to the total cost.

The construction period of Penang Second Bridge is about 5 years (from November
2008 to February 2014). For the project finance, it costs about RM4.5 billion for the whole
project and largely funded by China while the remaining cost is funded by Malaysian
government. In this case, the loan is reimbursed over 20 years with 3% interest rate per annum
(Road Traffic Technology n.d) It is a build and design contract that awarded to Beijing-based
China Harbour Engineering Construction (M) Sdn Bhd (CHEC) and UEM Builders Bhd.
(Refer Appendix A and Appendix B for more information about the project)

Figure 26: Penang Second Figure 27: Curvy design Figure 28: Two viewing
Bridge of bridge platforms in original plan

18
7.2 Bridge design
Penang Second Bridge is a combination of box girder bridge (approach span) and cable-
stayed bridge (main span) completed with concrete edge girders and deck slab (Figure 29).
According to Lin and Teruhiko Yoda (2017, p.175), cable-stayed bridge is one of the structural
systems which the continuous girder is supported by slanted cables from the tower. Usually, it
consists of at least one tower (known as pylon), main girders and slanting cable-stays (Diagram
12). Meanwhile, box girder bridge is a bridge where its main beams consist of girders with
hollow box shape, typically trapezoidal or rectangular in cross section (Encyclo 2021) (Figure
30). Cable-stayed bridge
(as main span)

Box girder bridge

(as approach span)

Figure 29: Combination of bridge design Diagram 12: Main components of

cable-stayed bridge

Figure 30: Box girders for box girder bridge

Based on our analysis and study, few technical and physical characteristics of Penang
Second Bridge are listed as below (Dr. Ismail 2012):

i. Overall length: 24km (16.9km over water)

ii. Types of bridge: Cable-stayed bridge (main span) and box girder bridge (approach span)
iii. Number of vehicles lane: two car lanes, one motorcycle lane (each direction) (Figure 31)
iv. Speed limit of bridge: 80km/h
v. Height clearance of main span (above water): 30m
vi. Main navigation span: 117.5m + 240m + 117.5m (Figure 32)

19
 vii. Approach span length: 55m each span
vii. Number of cables: 144 nos. (4 pylons x 18 cables x 2 sides)
viii. Arrangement of cables: Harp arrangement (Diagram 13)
ix. Pylon configuration: Cables in parallel planes (Figure 33)
x. Engineering skills/ Construction technology applied:
➢ Box beam technology
➢ High Damping Natural Rubber (HDNR) Bearing
➢ Seismic expansion joints technique

Figure 31: two car lanes and one motorcycle Figure 32: Main navigation span of
lane each direction cable-stayed bridge

Diagram 13: Harp arrangement of stay Figure 33: Cables in parallel planes
cables

7.3 Construction of Penang Second Bridge

Construction process for combination of bridge is more complicated and challenging. The
method used for box girder bridge is span by span by launching gantry, while cable stayed
bridge involves cast in-situ formwork and travelling formwork. (Refer Appendix D for detailed
construction process)

20
7.4 Consideration and Advantages on Bridge Design
When it came to the design stage for Penang Second Bridge, there were few factors for
cable-stayed bridge was considered as the main span. According to Science Direct (2021),
cable-stayed bridge has the maximum spanning capacity of around 1000m, but it is the most
economical option when the span falls in between 100m to 300m. Penang Second Bridge that
has a maximum span of 240m has optimal span length. Furthermore, cable-stayed bridge also
helps to create an attractive overall image.

In cable-stayed bridges, those cables act as the primary load-bearing structures, directly
connect the road deck to the towers, then transfer the load safely to ground through foundation
(Refer Appendix C for more information on load transmission of cable-stayed bridge). By
using balanced-cantilever construction whereby bridge-segments are added symmetrically to
both sides to balance the load, the cables act as both temporary (during construction) and
permanent supports for the road deck. Thus, it will be cost efficient for the project, as it
eliminates the need for temporary formwork and large ground anchorages (Port of Long Beach
2021). At the same time, the time required for construction will be shortened because they
require less steel cable (as compared to suspension bridge) and use more precast concrete
sections such as road decks.

According to D. Tan (2007) in TheStar, prefabricated box beam technology which

involves innovative ‘short-line matching’ technology allows the production of short sections
of beam measuring 3m-4m for the bridge. When the beams are small, it was easy for
transportation to site by smaller vessels. Besides, the prefabricated box beam can speed up the
construction and assure work quality (Road Traffic Technology n.d).

Although Malaysia is not known as a high risk earthquake zone, but design of Penang
Second Bridge took all the necessary precautions to make sure its ability to withstand
earthquakes. Dr. Kamaruddin Malik who is an expert in large structure earthquake protection
suggested an effective seismic isolation system, which is High Damping Rubber Bearing
(HDRB) system to protect the piles and foundation earthquake of bridge from structural
damage due to earthquakes, instead of change pile type arrangement which will be costly and
time-consuming.

On top of that, the seismic expansion joints were first techniques being used in Malaysia.
It allows structure to move during an.

21
7.5 Components of Substructures and Superstructures
7.5.1 Substructure
a) Piling
Based on Geotechnical Investigation Conclusion, there are different types of piling are
required to construct Penang Second Bridge such as pre-stressed precast concrete spun pile,
bored piles and tubular steel piles. (Dr. Ismail 2012）

Pre-stressed precast concrete spun piles (Figure 34) are specially designed for
shallow water depth region due to its prefabricated style with lesser or even no joint, allows
the pile withstand high tension force and resistant to earthquake problems and load from the
natural such as water flow pressure, wind load and so on. Precast concrete spun piles help to
speed up the construction process because it involves prefabrication at factory and direct
installation at site.
Bored piles (Figure 35) are commonly used for Penang Second Bridge due to wide
variety in diameter and construction techniques. This leads to the piles being easily adapted to
various loads and soil requirements. In Penang Second Bridge, there are 80 nos. of 1.5m
diameter bored piles installed at average 85m depth in order to replace the spun piles which are
not particularly useful due to large amounts of mud being contained in the area near to the
mainland and needs to be dredged before installation work. (Dr. Ismail 2012）

Tubular steel piles (Figure 36) are applied in deep water areas as it can be driven in a
very long distance up to 80m length and easy to splice between one pile to another pile. The
steel pipe has a high-strength section to cut through obstacles, so it will only cause little ground
displacement while driving into the ground. The numbers of piles per pile cap for Penang
Second Bridge can be reduced as tubular steel piles have high load-carrying capacity for a
given weight of pile.

Figure 34: Spun piles Figure 35: Bored piles Figure 36: Tubular
steel piles

22
b) Pile cap

Substructure to be constructed after pilling is pile cap. In Penang Second Bridge construction,
the pile cap is constructed which two stages of casting are required. The first casting which is
precast concrete shell (Figure 37) is to act as a formwork for the second layer casting and
permanently incorporate with the pile cap. Six pieces of precast RC shell are installed for each
pile cap (Dr. Ismail 2012). The pile cap construction is standard for the whole project, except
for a total 4 number of pile cap (P024-P027) which are built with giant steel fenders (Figure
38) packed with formwork as the main span is bearing more load than the approach span. (Dr.
Ismail 2012)

Figure 37: Precast concrete shell Figure 38: Steel fender

c) Pier (Figure 39)

Pier is a wide column for carrying loads as a support for the bridge
or connecting the box girders of the bridge. There are 578 numbers
of piers constructed by pre-fabricated reusable steel formworks.
After the piers are completed, it allows the launching gantry to rest
on it in order to lift the girders and hold them in position during
construction period. (Patel Mitulkumar 2016)
Figure 39: Piers
d) Bearing (Figure 40)

High damping rubber bearing is a support on bridge

piers which carry the load of the superstructure and
control the movements at the bridge supports. Especially
for Penang Second Bridge located in marine, it also acts
as a shock absorber which protects both the substructure
and superstructure such as deck from the earthquake. Figure 40: High damping rubber
(Dr. Ismail 2012） bearing

23
7.5.2 Superstructure
a) Segmental box girder deck (Figure 41)
The box girders that will form the road deck for the long stretch across the sea are built in the
mainland and then transported to the construction location for installation in the full structure.
The precast girder decks are applied for the approach span for Penang Second Bridge project,
and it is very economical for Penang Second Bridge due to the longs span of bridge. However,
the cast in-situ deck for main span is built incrementally by using travelling formwork with
each deck segment cast a stay cable is installed (VNIT Nagpur 2016).

Figure 41: Segmental box girder deck

b) Pylon tower & cable (Figure 42)

Pylon tower is made up of lower pylon, cross beam and upper pylon. The configuration of the
tower is closely related to the suspension system used for a bridge, as the main function of the
pylon is to support the bridge by connecting bridge deck with the cable. The suspension system
of Penang Second Bridge is a harp design, the cables look nearly parallel as the anchors are
distributed along the length of the tower (Sadek Abdelraheem 2015).

Figure 42: Cable-stayed bridge with pylon

24
8.0 Conclusion
In conclusion, bridge is a crucial spanning structure that act as a platform or passage
over an obstacle (e.g. steam, river, valley, roadway, railway) to carry the services. The bridge
is not allowed to build without any pre-investigation and survey, there are several conditions
that we need to consider before the beginning construction of bridge such as Traffic Studies,
Geotechnical Studies, Hydrotechnical Studies and so on. These considerations will directly
affect the construction method, structural system and types of the bridge as different bridges
have different uses and bearing limit to carry several services (e.g. road, railway, utility or other
service). There are some basic components must be included in the bridge such as deck, bearing,
pier and foundation to support the load of the bridge.

Moreover, the structure and components of the bridge will become more complicated
depend on the place where the bridge is to be built and the surrounding environmental issues.
For example, Penang Second Bridge are constructed on the marine to connects Batu Kawan on
East Malaysia mainland with Batu Maung on Penang Island. It was constructed by the
compound construction method of box girder bridge (approach span) and cable-stayed bridge
(main span) to carry the imposed load of the bridge because it is the most economical option
when the span falls in between 100m to 300m. This shows that the structure of the bridge will
not remain unchanged, it will be changed according to various considerations so that the bridge
can be constructed in the best and most economical way.

25
9.0 References
Arup 2021, The longest bridge in southeast asia, viewed 15 February 2021,
<https://www.arup.com/projects/second-penang-bridge>.

Babasaheb Ambedkar 2020, Launching of bridge by incremental launching method, viewed 18

February 2021, <https://www.irjet.net/archives/V7/i6/IRJET-V7I6274.pdf>.

BBR Network 2017., Engineering excellence in bridge construction and heavy lifting, viewed
21 February 2021, <https://www.bbrnetwork.com/technologies/construction-methods/>.

Bright Hub Engineering 2009, Bridge design, planning, and construction, viewed 22 February
2021, <https://www.brighthubengineering.com/structural-engineering/59793-bridge-design-
planning-and-construction/>.

Bygging-Uddemann 2018, Top 3 types of bridge-building techniques, viewed 18 February

2021, <https://bygging-uddemann.co.kr/top-3-types-of-bridge-building-techniques/>.

Civil Engineering Knowledge n.d., Investigation and planning of bridge, bridge construction
planning, viewed 23 February 2021, <https://www.civilknowledges.com/investigation-and-
planning-of-bridge/>.

Constro Facilitator 2020, Different types of materials used in bridge construction, viewed 20
February 2021, <https://www.constrofacilitator.com/different-types-of-materials-used-in-
bridge-construction/>.

Construction Machinery n.d., Bridge construction machinery, viewed 20 February 2021,

<http://www.theconstructionmachinery.com/bridge-construction-machinery.html>.

Dickinson, SS 2017, Three types of loads considered in bridge construction, viewed 22

February 2021, <https://homesteady.com/13367293/bridge-engineering-principles>.

D. Tan 2007, Second Penang Bridge construction to start in November, viewed 14 February
2021, <https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2007/07/26/second-penang-
bridge-construction-to-start-in-november>.

Emily Beach n.d., Procedure for bridge construction, viewed 22 February 2021,
<https://homesteady.com/12204829/procedure-for-bridge-construction>.

26
Encyclo 2021, Box girder bridge definition, viewed 17 February 2021,
<https://www.encyclo.co.uk/meaning-of-Box_girder_bridge>.

Encyclopaedia Britannica n.d., Truss bridge, viewed 25 February 2021,

<https://www.britannica.com/technology/truss-bridge.>.

Flyability n.d., Bridge inspections: a complete guide, viewed 23 February 2021,

<https://www.flyability.com/bridge-inspections>.

Gc-kader 2018, Steps of bridge construction, viewed 22 February 2021,

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Appendix A: Overview of Penang Second Bridge

Diagram 1: Overview Plan of Penang Second Bridge

In fact, Penang Second Bridge was not merely focus on construction of bridge, it also
includes many others civil engineering works such as roadworks, expressways, toll plaza and
related works. However, in this case study, students will focus on construction of bridge, which
is included in Package 1 and Package 2 as shown above.

Diagram 2: Route of Penang Second

Bridge
31
Appendix B: Project Team of Penang Second Bridge

In this project, Jambatan Kedua Sdn Bhd which is a client was responsible to supervise
the construction process, deal with all the management and parties involved subsequently in-
charge for the operation of the bridge. Penang Second Bridge is a construction project that
build and design contract that awarded to Beijing-based China Harbour Engineering
Construction (M) Sdn Bhd (CHEC) and UEM Builders Bhd. The former will be responsible
for package one which includes construction works for main span, substructures and foundation,
while the latter in-charge for package two, mainly construction of the superstructure. On
another hand, Arup Malaysia, Hong Kong and United Kingdom (UK) was assigned as
independent checking engineer (ICE) for detailed design and construction while AECOM was
consultant with the responsibility to carry out feasibility studies, detailed design, tendering
services as well as site supervision.

Diagram 3: Project Team

32
Appendix C: Load Transmission of Cable-stayed Bridge (main span)
The main superstructures of Penang Second Bridge are the bridge deck, piers, pylon
and the cable stays. The deck supports the loads and transfers them to the cable stays, pylons
or piers through compression and bending. The cable stays transfer the forces to the pylons,
which transmit them by compression to the substructure (Universidade Técnica de Lisboa
2011).

The substructure of Penang Second Bridge contains bridge piers, pile caps and piles.
The piers transmit the load received form superstructure to the pile cap. The load received form
piers are equally distributed over the heads of piles in group. Lastly, the piles carry the loads
to the sub soil ground (Universidade Técnica de Lisboa 2011)

Diagram 4: Load transmission of cable-stayed

bridge

Diagram 5: Flow chart of load transmission for cable-stayed bridge

33
A visual representation of the data presented here can be seen in Diagram 6 where the possible
and optimal span length for various bridges is presented.

Diagram 6: Optimal span length for various types of bridge

For the design of Penang Second Bridge, the maximum span of cable stayed bridge is
240mm, so is economical to be built with as it falls within the range of optimal length of span.

34
Appendix D: Construction Process of Penang Second Bridge
The construction for the Penang Second Bridge involves high complexity construction works
which require the monitoring and advice from professional project team from time to time. The
combination of box girder bridge and cable-stayed bridge both need deep foundation to transfer
the load safely to ground, then followed by the construction of superstructure respectively.

I) Construction of Substructures

1. The pile groups were driven or casted in-situ into the sediment (Figure 1, Figure 2 & Figure
3). There were 3 types of piles foundation being used in Penang Second Bridge, based on
their suitability, which are bored pile, steel pile and spun pile. Special concrete that can
repel salt waters corrosive effects was used for all concreting works.

Figure 1: Placement of Figure 2: Insert steel Figure 3: Pour concrete

pile groups reinforcement inside the
bored piles

2. The formwork for pile cap was set up. (Figure 3)

3. The lean concrete for pile cap (1.8m thick for P25 and P26, 1.2m thick for side) was poured
first, then wait for lean concrete to achieve desire strength. (Figure 4)

Figure 4: Formwork for pile cap Figure 5: Lean concrete for pile cap

4. The steel bars were placed within the formwork by using a tower crane (Figure 6), followed
by pouring G40 concrete in 2 badges (Figure 7) due to large volume of concrete required.

35
 Figure 6: Use tower crane to put Figure 7: Pour G40 concrete by stages
steel reinforcements for pile cap

Due to large amount of concrete was required at one time, the project team decided to set up
their floating concrete factory (Figure 8). The concrete was poured continuously for over 3
days straight. One of the biggest challenges was workers need to always keep the concrete
below 36°C (Figure 9) as hotter pour could risk the concrete shrinking as it hardens, potentially
leading to structural failure and collapse of bridge. Thus, bags of ice were required to cool the
water for concrete mix (Figure 10) and cooling pipe was put inside the concrete to reduce the
internal temperature (Figure 11).

Figure 8: Set up floating concrete factory Figure 9: Check temperature of

to produce large quantities of concrete concrete mix
mix continuously

Figure 10: Use ice bags to cool the Figure 11: Put cooling pipes inside
water and machinery concrete

36
5. Then, move to the construction of pier (wide column) by using same technique and
equipment (Figure 12).
6. More than 1300 units of High Damping Rubber Bearing (HDRB) were installed (Figure
13) on top of pier to ensure the bridges earthquake-proof. Now, they were ready to receive
box girders.

Figure 12: Construction of pier Figure 13: Install HDRB on

top of pier

37
II) Construction of Approach Span- Box girder bridge

According to Arup (2021), 55m span precast concrete segmental box girders were erected by
launching girders span by span. The brief processes are explained as below:-

1. After the piers are completed, it functioned as platform where the launching gantry rest on.
Launching gantry lifts the pre-cast concrete girders and hold them in position (Figure 14).

Figure 14: Use launching gantry to build box girder bridge

2. The fabricated pre-cast concrete girders (Figure 15) will be delivered to site using vessels
(Figure 16).

Figure 15: Precast segmental box Figure 16: Deliver precast concrete
girders on site box girder to site by using vessels

3. A mammoth crane was used to lift box girders from pier to pier (Figure 17).

Figure 17: 4 nos. of mammoth crane were used to lift box girders

38
4. The segments were joined with super strength adhesive (Figure 18) and high tensile
strength of cables were stressed to the limit (Figure 19).

Figure 18: Use super strength adhesive Figure 19: Stress cables to its limit
to join the segment of box girders

5. After one span between two piers was completed, the launching gantry will move forward
(Figure 20).

Figure 20: Launching gantry with 4 nos. of mammoth

crane move forward after completion of one span

6. The process was repeated until the approach span meets the main span of cable-stayed
bridge.

39
III) Construction of main span- Cable-stayed bridge

According to Arup (2021), the first segment and pairs at the towers were cast in-situ on
falsework. Starting from second segment and stay cables, travelling formwork system was
used to cast edge girders and deck slabs.

1. After the piers has been completed, the construction for lower pylon will be started.
2. Lower pylons were casted in-situ on falsework (Figure 21). Each pylon may need more
than 600 tons of steel for reinforcement.
3. At the same time, temporary steel support was erected (Figure 22) to install the cross beam
later. The massive cross beam will be served as a tie for the two towers and signify the
starting of road decks.

Figure 21: Construction of lower pylon Figure 22: Temporary steel support
for cross beam
4. After the concrete works for pylons over the location of cross beam, the construction of
cross beams will be started (Figure 23).
5. Then, the construction for upper pylons will be continued using hydraulic climbing system
(Figure 24).

Figure 23: Construction of cross beam Figure 24: Hydraulic climbing

system for upper pylon

40
6. Ancillary fitting for tower was installed (Figure 25).
7. Once the tower was built, construction of work station on central tower (Figure 26) will
begin. 1 cable and 1 section of decks were cast in-situ on falsework (Figure 27). Each stay
cable was consisted of multiple steel cables that strung through long density plastic tubes
(Figure 28).

Cross beam

Figure 25: Ancillary
fittings at top of tower
Figure 26: Work station to cast
first segment of road deck and
stay cable
First segment
of road deck
Figure 27: Construction
of first segment of road
deck and stay cable using
falsework

Figure 28: Cut section of stay cable

8. The stay cable was anchored to one side of the deck, run up and pass through openings
founded in the pylons, then drop back down and anchored on the deck of opposite side
(Figure 29).
9. Every cable was individually stressed to its maximum strength (Figure 30).

Figure 29: Put stay cables in place Figure 30: Stress cable to its
maximum strength

41
10. Starting from second segment and stay cables, standard travelling formwork system was
adopted to cast edge girders and deck slabs (Figure 31).
11. The travelling formwork will be clipped on first segment, followed by the construction of
girder for second segment (Figure 32).
12. Once the cast in-situ girders were done, the steel bars within the girder were stressed to its
limit (Figure 33).
13. The travelling formwork will move forward, allow the construction of road decks for
second segment and girder for third segment (Figure 34).

Edge girders for

second segment

Figure 31: Travelling formwork to cast Figure 32: Construction of edge

the following road decks and stay cable girder for second segment

Road decks for

second segment

Figure 33: Stress steel bars to its limit Figure 34: Construction of road deck
for second segment

14. The steps 7 to 12 were repeated.

15. Simultaneously, steps 1 to 13 will be carried out for another span end.
16. When the decks from both side of pylons meet one another, the construction of cable-stayed
bridge was considered as complete.

42