Design and construction of Third Karnaphuli Bridge, Bangladesh

The Third Karnaphuli Bridge is the first major cable-supported crossing to be constructed in Bangladesh. It spans the Karnaphuli River immediately to the north of Chittagong port. The bridge is founded on alluvial soil affected by deep soil liquefaction and river scour. The final design solution was based on extensive ground investigation and on the results of pile testing carried out using a jack-up self balancing method. The foundations of the main bridge incorporate 3 m diameter, bored, cast in situ piles which were base grouted post-construction. The main bridge includes three 200 m long main river spans with an extradosed prestressed concrete single cell box girder deck constructed by the balanced cantilever method.