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Aircraft bridges, including taxiway bridges and runway bridges, bring aircraft traffic over motorways, railways, and waterways.
Aircraft bridges, including taxiway bridges and runway bridges, bring aircraft traffic over motorways, railways, and waterways.
Aircraft bridges must be designed to support the heaviest aircraft that may cross them, or that will cross them in the future. In 1963, a taxiway bridge at O'Hare International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world, was planned to handle future aircraft weighing 365,000 pounds (166,000 kg), but aircraft weights doubled within two years of its construction. [1] Currently, the largest passenger aircraft in the world, the Airbus A380, has a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 575 t (1,268,000 lb).
The largest Boeing planes, i.e. the current "Project Ozark" versions of the Boeing 747-8, are approaching MTOW of greater than 1,000,000 lb (450,000 kg). Aircraft bridges must be designed for the substantial forces exerted by aircraft braking, affecting the lateral load in substructure design. [2] Braking force of 70 percent of the live load is assumed in two recent taxiway bridge designs. [2] [3] And "deck design is more apt to be controlled by punching shear than flexure due to the heavy wheel loads." [2]
Taxiway bridges are unusually wide relative to their length, and aircraft loading cannot be assumed to be distributed evenly to a bridge superstructure's web, so different modeling is required in these bridges' structural design. [4] : 2–3 In cold climates, provisions for anti-icing must be made. In the U.S., regulations of the Federal Aviation Administration must be met. [2] [5] And there are various other differences versus typical bridges covered by AASHTO standards. [6]
A major issue is that closing an airport for construction even temporarily is impossible.
Major alternatives considered for construction of a taxiway bridge in 2008 were:
Finite Element Analysis has been advocated for, or applied in, taxiway bridge design since at least 1963. [7]
 | This section needs additional citations for verification .(March 2021) |
Taxiway bridges and runway bridges are bridges at airports to bring airplane taxiways and runways across motorways, railroads, or waterways. A taxiway bridge must be designed to carry the weight of the maximum size airplanes crossing and perhaps stopping directly upon it. A runway bridge is similar but may have different stresses. Alternatively, a motorway may be brought by tunnel underneath one or more runways and taxiways.
Examples include:
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface such as a runway for a plane to take off and to land or a helipad, and often includes adjacent utility buildings such as control towers, hangars and terminals, to maintain and monitor aircraft. Larger airports may have airport aprons, taxiway bridges, air traffic control centres, passenger facilities such as restaurants and lounges, and emergency services. In some countries, the US in particular, airports also typically have one or more fixed-base operators, serving general aviation.
Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport is an international airport serving the area of Barranquilla, the capital city of the Atlántico department in Colombia. The airport is located in the suburban municipality of Soledad. It owes its name to one of the pioneers of Colombian aviation, Ernesto Cortissoz.
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a human-made surface or a natural surface. Runways, taxiways and ramps, are sometimes referred to as "tarmac", though very few runways are built using tarmac. Takeoff and landing areas defined on the surface of water for seaplanes are generally referred to as waterways. Runway lengths are now commonly given in meters worldwide, except in North America where feet are commonly used.
Chicago O'Hare International Airport is a major international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately 17 miles (27 km) northwest of the Loop business district. Operated by the Chicago Department of Aviation and covering 7,627 acres (3,087 ha), O'Hare has non-stop flights to 249 destinations in North America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the North Atlantic region as of Summer 2024. As of 2024, O'Hare is considered the most connected airport in the US, and 5th most connected airport in the world. It is also the United States' 4th busiest airport, and 7th biggest airport.
Kai Tak Airport was an international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. Officially known as Hong Kong International Airport from 1954 to 6 July 1998, it is often referred to as Hong Kong International Airport, Kai Tak, or simply Kai Tak and Kai Tak International Airport, to distinguish it from its successor, Chek Lap Kok International Airport, built on reclaimed and levelled land around the islands of Chek Lap Kok and Lam Chau, 30 kilometres (19 mi) to the west.
A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with aprons, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller general aviation airports sometimes use gravel or grass.
A jet bridge is an enclosed, movable connector which most commonly extends from an airport terminal gate to an airplane, and in some instances from a port to a boat or ship, allowing passengers to board and disembark without heading outside and being exposed to harsh weather. Depending on building design, sill heights, fueling positions, and operational requirements, a jet bridge may be fixed or movable, swinging radially, or extending in length. The jetway was invented by Frank Der Yuen.
Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport serving Kansas City, Missouri, United States. Located in Clay County, this facility is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems, which categorized it as a general aviation reliever airport.
In civil engineering, grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights (grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other transit routes when they cross each other. The composition of such transport axes does not have to be uniform; it can consist of a mixture of roads, footpaths, railways, canals, or airport runways. Bridges, tunnels, or a combination of both can be built at a junction to achieve the needed grade separation.
University of Illinois Willard Airport is south of Savoy in Tolono Township, Champaign County, Illinois, United States. It is owned and operated by the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign and is named for former University of Illinois president Arthur Cutts Willard.
Arad International Airport is located 4 km (2.5 mi) west of Arad, in western Romania, in the historical region of Crișana. The airport is located only 60 km (37 mi) north of Timişoara Airport. Arad International Airport also has a cargo terminal, the largest and most modern in western Romania. It is located 250 km from Budapest and 300 km from Belgrade. It is located near the border with Hungary, only 30 km from the closest point for crossing the border - Turnu and 20 km away from the closest railway point for crossing the border - Curtici. The airport also serves as the SMURD regional air ambulance base for the five western counties that form the region. SMURD Arad operates 1 Eurocopter EC135 converted for the air ambulance role. Arad Airport is directly connected to the A1 motorway, one of the most important and heavily used motorways in Romania.
Kai Tak Tunnel, formerly known as the Airport Tunnel, is a tunnel in New Kowloon, Hong Kong, which connects the Kowloon Bay and Ma Tau Kok areas by going beneath the former Hong Kong International Airport. It is part of Route 5.
Tutor Perini Corporation is one of the largest general contractors in the United States. At the end of 2013, it reported annual revenue of approximately $4.2 billion. Tutor Perini is headquartered in Sylmar, California, and works on construction projects throughout North America. Specific areas of focus are civil infrastructures such as bridges, highways, tunnels, airports, and mass transit systems, building infrastructure, and specialty contracting.
Scott Wilson Group plc was a global integrated design and engineering consultancy with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. Founded as a civil engineering firm in 1951, the company broadened its range of services through acquisitions. Scott Wilson offered consultancy and professional services in the railways, buildings and infrastructure, environment and natural resources and roads sectors, and at its peak employed 5,500 people in 80 offices worldwide. Scott Wilson became a public limited company in 2006, and in 2010 was purchased by URS Corporation that in turn was purchased by AECOM.
Naypyidaw International Airport officially spelled Nay Pyi Taw, , is located 16 kilometres southeast of Nay Pyi Taw, the capital of Myanmar. Before the foundation of Naypyidaw, this was referred to as the airport of the nearby town of Lewe. The airport officially opened on 19 December 2011.
Waukegan National Airport is a public airport in Waukegan, in Lake County, Illinois. The airport is 40 miles (64 km) north of Chicago. It was originally Waukegan Memorial Airport. It has been operated by the Waukegan Port District since 1956. In January 2014 under a FAA reclassification of many small airports, the airport was renamed Waukegan National Airport
On December 20, 1972, North Central Airlines Flight 575 and Delta Air Lines Flight 954 collided on a runway at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Ten people died – all on the North Central aircraft – and 17 were injured in the accident. This was the second major airliner accident to happen in Chicago in December 1972; the other was United Airlines Flight 553, which crashed twelve days earlier on approach to Midway Airport.
CAAC Flight 301, a Hawker Siddeley Trident operated by CAAC Guangzhou Regional Administration from Guangzhou Baiyun to Hong Kong Kai Tak, ran off the runway in Hong Kong on 31 August 1988 after clipping approach lights. This was the first accident of China Southern Airlines since the split of CAAC Airlines from 1 July 1988. Six crew members and one passenger perished in the accident. The crash shut down Kai Tak Airport for more than six hours after the accident.
Syracuse Hancock International Airport is a joint civil–military airport five miles (8 km) northeast of downtown Syracuse, New York, and 65 miles (100 km) south of Watertown. Operated by the Syracuse Regional Airport Authority, it is located off Interstate 81, near Mattydale. The main terminal complex is at the east end of Colonel Eileen Collins Boulevard. Half of the airport is located within the Town of DeWitt, with portions situated in the nearby towns of Salina and Cicero.
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