Case study on the design of a contemporary Civil Engineering project Essay

Case study on the design of a contemporary Civil Engineering project - Essay Example The Strait of Messina Bridge Project The project overview The Strait of Messina bridge project was started in the year 2006 and was designed to end in 2008. Due to problems to do with finance and project budget terminated as suggested by Porter and Prince (2009). However with the election Silvio Berlusconi as the prime minister in 2008, the project was revived the same year. Once Messina bridge project is completed, it will become one of the longest suspension bridges to have been built in the world. The Messina Bridge will be sixty meters wide with twelve traffic lanes and two middle lanes for trains. It will therefore allow about one hundred and forty thousand vehicles and two hundred trains to use the bridge in a day. However there has been a debate of whether the bridge will stand earthquakes and also about its impacts to the environment. The project is still on construction and it has been designed to complete by 2012. The context of the project The historical context of the Str ait of Messina Bridge has been covered with several events. In 1969, different concepts of the bridge construction were offered for competition and among them was the cable-stayed design which later brought the issue of this project. Around 1979, a committee was set up and came up with a study for the crossing bridge as suggested by Lane (2010). Five years later a company by the name Stretto di Messina was established which came up with three ways to construct the bridge. The different ways were, one the suspension bridge, second the floating tunnel and finally the bored tunnel. Evidence was gathered from different experts who dismissed the ideas of the tunnel and advocated for the suspension bridge. The decision on the construction of the bridge raised a lot politically heated debates in Italy. Those supporting the decision argued that it created employment and boosted tourism. Those against it argued that it was unnecessary and the government would first focus on the roads more ef ficient. Some geological concerns were about the history of earthquakes in area would be a challenge to the project. Seismic-tectonic and wind conditions context has also been focused on. The ability of the bridge to overcome seismic effects and wind has been an issue of concern. The bridge once completed will be open fulltime without any traffic interruption due to strong winds. It will use special wind protection barriers capable of maintaining normal traffic movement even in the case of strong wind. The bridge has aerodynamic properties that give it the ability to withstand wind of any speed. In as far as seismic activities are concerned; the bridge has a natural insulation. This natural insulation makes the bridge insensitive to earthquakes. The structure is insulated against physical possibilities such as vibration. According to Simonis (2010), the Messina Bridge is designed to overcome an extreme earthquake which has a magnitude of about 7.1 being focused at about fifteen kilo meters from the site of the bridge. The environmental aspects of the Messina Bridge have caused resentment on the local people and a lot of protest. These aspects include the construction’s impact on the local wildlife and the traditional and poor structure of the region. Some measures have been taken to reduce the environmental impact of the project activities. These include using the tunnel’