I got a feedback on this blog that my comments are too technical. Actually, after leaving the technical world for the last 2 years, I myself can hardly use technical terms or even name the parts of the bridge. However, should any readers have any questions, I will try to answer them, or make additions by editing the relevant post.
Well, as usual I will monitor the Bambangan. Hopefully if the fruits can grow, I may just ask the owner for a few ripe ones, that is if it can grow to maturity before the roots of the tree give way to the clay around it and dies.
For the moment I think the fruits have not reach one inch in size yet.
The formwork for the prestressed concrete beam have now been fixed. Note that it is made of prefabricated steel plates which is then joined together with bolts plus some extra supports just to prevent it from tumbling down during the filling up with concrete. As of today concreting work has not begun because the supporting bars are not fully installed according to the workers.
Here you can see that the steel formwork is sufficient for one beam only and there are 5 beams for the two lane bridge. Therefore the concrete for the first beam will have to set before the formworks are removed and re-used for the next beam and so forth. This type of concrete beam design must come in pre-selected sizes otherwise the production of the steel formworks would become an expensive business.
Also note the steel reinforcing bars juts out from the top of the beam in a T shape form. This part will be connected to the concrete bridge deck or slab once the beams are installed on top of the pile caps. The beam and slab then become a composite single structure.
Foreground, the workers have added the rebars to the final height of the pile caps where the ends of the beam will be laid on.
background: the works for the retaining wall continues.
