THE BRIDGE OF JOIGNY

The design and construction are described of a bridge across the River Yvonne in Joigny, France. The bridge demonstrated the feasibility of building a typical prestressed bridge with high-strength concrete, using unsophisticated means andd materials that could be found throughout France. The 28-day strength of the concrete was 60 MPa (8700 psi). The details are described of the prestressing, design stress, high-strength vs ordinary concrete, fresh concrete, concrete design, compressive strength, tensile strength, and concrete placement. Monitoring instruments were built into the bridge to verify the assumptions in the calculations. Thermal evolution was measured, as well as prestressing forces and deformations, creep and shrinkage. The bridge was successfully completed in 1989, and the use of 60 MPa concrete will be extended to the cosntruction of most French bridges in the future.