548 Hydraulic and Civil Engineering Technology VII

M. Yang et al. (Eds.)

© 2022 The authors and IOS Press.
This article is published online with Open Access by IOS Press and distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0).
doi:10.3233/ATDE220910

Research on Key Construction Technology

of Urban Expressway Viaduct Connection
Zhendong ZHOU a,1
a
Zhonglu Design Institute, China Road and Bridge Corporation, Imperial City
International B902, China

Abstract. With the increase of traffic pressure on the main roads in the central
areas of major cities, the new high-speed elevated corridors have become a new
way to relieve urban traffic congestion. However, for prosperous urban areas, cast-
in-place piers and cap beams cannot be used well due to the long construction
period and harsh construction conditions. At this point, prefabricated piers and
prefabricated cover beams can well solve the above problems. However, in actual
engineering construction abroad, especially in Africa, there are also practical
problems such as backward technology, shortage of materials, and limited local
technical skills. Therefore, this paper takes the prefabrication and connection
construction technology scheme of prefabricated piers and cover beams of Nairobi
Expressway in Kenya as an example to study the key construction technology of
prefabricated viaduct connections in Africa for other similar projects.

Keywords. Viaducts, piers, cover beams, connection construction, technical

solutions

1. Introduction

1.1. Project Overview

The A8 highway passes through the core area of Nairobi, and the traffic congestion in
the urban area is very seriously, especially in the morning and evening rush hours, the
road section between Kenyatta Airport and James gichuru road is abnormally
congested, causing serious vehicle delays. The construction of a new high-speed
elevated passageway in the urban area of Nairobi will divert the urban traffic and
effectively alleviate the urban traffic congestion.
Nairobi airport Viaduct Project in Kenya is the first BOT highway project invested
and developed by China Road and Bridge in Africa and the first toll highway project in
Kenya. It starts from the east side of mlolongo, runs along the central divider of the
existing A8 road from southeast to northwest, crosses the core area of Nairobi, and
ends at the intersection of James gichuru road. The total length of the project is
27.131km.
Among them, the first 15.710km of the main line is mainly roadbed, and the last
11.421km is mainly bridge. Except for the east ring to south ring section, which adopts

1
Zhendong Zhou, Corresponding author, Zhonglu Design Institute, China Road and Bridge
Corporation, Imperial City International B902, China.; E-mail: zhouzd@crbc.com.
 Z. Zhou / Research on Key Construction Technology of Urban Expressway Viaduct Connection 549

the standard subgrade width of 28.6m with two-way six-lane, the rest of the road
sections adopt the standard of class A road with two-way four-lane width of 21.6m.

1.2. Project Characteristics

The project is located through the core area of Nairobi, traffic congestion is serious, the
site construction conditions are extremely complex, must use the domestic technology
and technology mature, safety and quality control of the design and construction
program, to achieve the target schedule.
The main characteristics of the project are:
(1) Difficult demolition and relocation: land acquisition, pipeline demolition and
reconstruction are difficult and the progress is uncontrollable.
(2) Short construction period: The internal construction control period is one and a
half years, and the construction period is very tight.
(3 Construction Interference: A8 road traffic congestion and urban road section in
the division of only 2 ~ 4 meters wide, can’t be cast in place construction.
(4) Great influence of public opinion: bridge construction should solve the problem
of road security and reduce public opinion.

2. Control Points of Prefabricated Assembly Technology

2.1. Lower Structure

The project substructure is divided into 6 types of piers such as double-column pier,
single-column pier, frame pier and portal pier, with a total of 308 piers. Double column
pier and single column pier is mainly used in the main line location with suitable width
of the center divider; frame pier is mainly used in the main line to connect the entrance
and exit of the ramp, and the ramp shared pier; portal pier is mainly used in the main
line across the obstacles more complex or narrow width of the center divider.
Mainline bridge cover beam is large cantilever or large span prestressed concrete
structure, cover beam concrete standard is C50, main reinforcement specification is
D32 and D28, cover beam prestressing is tensioned twice, the first tensioning is after
cover beam installation, the second tensioning is after superstructure installation,
tensioning control stress is 75% fpk.

2.2. Research on Connection Technology Scheme

The so-called prefabricated assembly, figuratively speaking, is like building blocks,

first the structure is divided into a number of blocks, prefabricated in the prefabricated
plant for each sub-block, and then transported to the site for connection. The focus
should be on solving two problems: how to divide the blocks and how to connect them.

2.3. Determination of Connection Scheme

In recent years, the more commonly used connection methods are grouting sleeve,
double screw sleeve and UHPC connection [1-2]. Grouting sleeve technology is the
most widely used and most mature connection method. In the 1960s, Dr. Yee, an
550 Z. Zhou / Research on Key Construction Technology of Urban Expressway Viaduct Connection

American structural engineer, invented the steel sleeve grouting connection joint in the
United States, which solved the longitudinal steel connection problem in the
prefabricated structure and effectively realized the design requirement of "assembly
equal to cast-in-place". Over the years, the United States and Japan have carried out a
lot of experimental research work on the grouting connection technology of steel bar
sleeves, including the stress-strain curve of the sleeve, the fatigue test of cyclic tension,
the influence of the offset of the steel bar on the connection, and the effect of the
disturbance on the grouting after grouting. connection effects, etc. This technology has
been used for a long time and has experienced the test of earthquake. The conclusions
of the United States and Japan are that it can be used in bridge construction in
earthquake areas [3-5]. The double screw connection is developed by China
Construction Research Institute. It is a technological upgrade of mechanical connection
and has been widely used in industrial and civil construction. UHPC (High
Performance Concrete) connection is a connection method that has only been used in
recent years and has not been widely used in bridge structures. The comparison of the
three connection technical schemes is shown in table 1.

Table 1. Comparison of Three Connection Technology Solutions

No Compare Double Screw Grout Sleeve UHPC
Dry mechanical Wet connection, force
Connection Bonding via UHPC High
1 connection, Clear force transmission through
Process Strength Concrete
transmission path grout
Mechanical connection Mature technology and
Construction Perfusion of UPHC is
2 is easy to operate and convenient
Convenience more convenient
low cost construction
3 Economy Lower cost Lowest cost Higher cost
Ningbo Expressway Test
4 Applications Architecture Bridge
Section

Through extensive research and comparative research [6-9], considering factors

such as construction convenience, connection reliability and economy, the connection
method of the substructure of this project is determined as follows:
(1) The vertical connection between the bridge pier and the bearing platform, the
bridge pier and the bridge pier, and the bridge pier and the cover beam shall be
connected by grouting sleeves.
(2)The transverse connection between the cover beam and the cover beam adopts
double screw connection.

3. Construction Key Process for Assembled Connections

3.1. Grouting Sleeve Connection Construction Process

Grouted sleeve connection is a technique in which ribbed steel bars are inserted into a
grouted sleeve and grout is injected into the gap between the sleeve and the bars, and
the grout solidifies to achieve the connection of the bars. This technology pre-buries
the grout sleeve in the concrete member and injects the grout into the sleeve through
the grouting pipe from outside the prefabricated member at the installation site to
complete the connection of the prefabricated member reinforcement. The steel sleeve
grout connection joint consists of three materials: steel, grout sleeve and grout, of
 Z. Zhou / Research on Key Construction Technology of Urban Expressway Viaduct Connection 551

which grout sleeve is divided into half grout sleeve and full grout sleeve, and full grout
sleeve is used in this project.
Before construction on site, the tensile test of grout sleeve, grout compressive and
flexural test are needed to ensure the quality is qualified.
The connection of bridge pier and bearing platform is made by grouting sleeve,
and its construction process is shown in figure 1.

Figure 1. The Connection Between the Bridge Pier and the Bearing Platform.

3.2. Construction Process of Double-screw Connection

The double screw connection is a purely mechanical connection. Double screw sleeve
consists of inner screw sleeve, outer screw sleeve and locking master [10]. Before the
construction on site, it is necessary to do the tensile test of the double screw sleeve to
ensure the quality is qualified.
The connection of transverse reinforcement at the cantilever end of the single-
column pier cover beam is made by double-slot connection, and the construction
process is shown in figure 2.

Figure 2. The Connection Between the Bridge pier and the Bearing Platform.
552 Z. Zhou / Research on Key Construction Technology of Urban Expressway Viaduct Connection

4. Conclusion

4.1. Technical Aspects

Practice has proved that two types of connections, grout sleeve and double screw
sleeve, are technically feasible. However, grout sleeve connection is easier to operate
on site, more convenient to construct, more reliable and better construction quality
control, which is successful and can be promoted; double screw sleeve connection
requires higher installation accuracy, and the quality of reinforcement connection is not
easily guaranteed in the absence of skilled workers.
Improvement measures for cover beam connection: improve the technical ability
of workers and processing accuracy of prefabricated factory to improve the installation
accuracy; after UHPC is widely used and has a certain economy, UHPC can be used
for connection, this connection method does not need to connect the reinforcement first
on site, the construction is more convenient and the construction quality is easier to
guarantee.

4.2. On Site Construction

The technical director of the construction unit shall enter the site as soon as possible
and deeply participate in the project planning. Reduce the risk of repeated construction
drawing design in the future. The design scheme jointly planned by all participants of
the project will be more solid and more conducive to the implementation of the project.
For overseas projects, it is recommended to give priority to the construction process
with mature technology and convenient on-site construction.
(1) The upper structure adopts assembled small box girder, and the bridge erection
frame is equipped with box girder, which greatly speeds up the construction progress
and guarantees the construction quality and safety.
(2) It is more convenient to use cast-in-place construction for the substructure than
prefabricated assembly construction, and it is more conducive to construction quality
control.
(3) Regarding the two connection methods, the grouting sleeve connection
construction is more convenient, the quality control is better, and the application is
successful. The double-screw connection requires too much on-site installation
accuracy. In the absence of skilled workers, it is difficult to locate the steel bars and to
ensure the quality of the connection.

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