page_title: Ganter Bridge
section_title: Design
hierarchical_section_title: Ganter Bridge / Design
caption_attribution_description: English: Layout of the Ganter bridge by Christian Menn at the Simplon road; Valais, Switzerland. Contrary to the original drawing the base view is oriented to the north, pivoted on pier # 3. Deutsch: Layout der Ganterbrücke von Christian Menn an der Simplonstrasse; Wallis, Schweiz. Der Grundriss ist entgegen der Originalzeichnung nach Norden ausgerichtet, Drehpunkt am Pfeiler 3.
context_page_description: Ganter Bridge is a multi-span reinforced concrete road bridge that is the second longest spanning bridge in Switzerland after Poya Bridge. It spans the Ganter River valley and is located along the Simplon Pass road about 10 km south of Brig in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It was designed by renowned Swiss civil engineer Christian Menn and completed in 1980. It is notable for its innovative design and its stylish geometric profile in its spectacular Alpine setting.
context_section_description: The bridge's form consists of an S-curve roadway, high above the Ganter River and at about 1,450 m (4,760 ft) above sea level, supported by two main towers and five smaller piers. They sustain a total of eight spans with lengths of, from north to south, respectively: 35 m (115 ft), 50 m (164 ft), 127 m (417 ft), 174 m (571 ft), 127 m (417 ft), 80 m (262 ft), 50 m (164 ft), and 35 m (115 ft). The main and longest span between the two towers, P3 and P4, is straight, while most of the remaining spans lie along curves with a radius of 200 m (656 ft).  The overall length is 678 m (2,224 ft) with a main span of 174 m (571 ft), and a maximum tower height of 150 m (492 ft). 
  Its innovative design combines elements of a cable-stayed bridge and a prestressed cantilever hollow-box girder bridge, which has become to be referred to as an extradosed bridge.  The Ganter Bridge is the first of its type to use triangular concrete walls above the roadway to encase the prestressed cable-stays into sails, which protects the cables from corrosion and gives the bridge a distinctive stylish geometric appearance.  From some drivers' view, these triangular concrete walls plus the one across the top of the towers made the main span feel too much like a tunnel entrance.  Whatever its pros and cons, the innovative and unique Ganter Bridge is one of Switzerland's ground-breaking bridges. In the words of David P. Billington: “Ganter bridge ... represents one of those rare events where a new form arises”.
caption: Ganter Bridge: elevation (top) and plan (bottom)
exif: {}