The new 660 meters long Kömürhan cable-stayed bridge, conceived and designed by Ponting and Pipenbaher Consulting Engineers, crosses the Karakaya Dam reservoir situated on the Euphrates River. It connect the cities of Malatya and Elazığ and serves as a strategic crossing for provinces of Eastern Anatolia. The construction of the fourth largest single pylon cable-stayed bridge in the world began in 2017. The main span length of the 22.5 meters wide orthotropic steel box structure is 380 meters. Due to the existing morphology of the terrain and the proximity of the tunnel, the cable-stayed bridge is designed with a single 168.5 meters tall pylon. Another characteristic of this bridge is that the stay cables are arranged in a single plane, which gives the bridge a special elegance and calmness.
Ponting and Pipenbaher Consulting Engineers collaborated on the project with renowned Turkish consulting company Yüksel Proje. The bridge was constructed by Doğuş and Gülsan construction companies.
»Ponting and Pipenbaher Consulting Engineers prepared the conceptual design of the new bridge, Tender design and carried out Independent check of Final design. The biggest engineering challenge was to ensure seismic stability and bridge stability in strong and gusty winds. At the same time, we remained consistent in terms of project quality, inventive in design and honest in terms of architecture structural concept”, said the author of the bridge’s design Marjan Pipenbaher, senior bridge designer, partner and director at Ponting and Pipenbaher Consulting Engineers.
It is the second completed bridge project in Turkey for Ponting and Pipenbaher Consulting Engineers, following the
Nissibi Bridge, completed in 2015. The 610 meters long Nissibi Bridge is also a cable stayed bridge on the Euphrates River. Unlike the Kömürhan Bridge, it has two 96.8-meter-high pylons. Both bridges are located in the area of East Anatolian Fault, a major strike-slip fault zone in eastern Turkey, which is among the world's most seismically active countries.
Project details:
Kömürhan Bridge
