Do the Wave

"Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7) 05/06/2020 at 23:24 • Filed to: China, Bridges, Bridgelopnik

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Update: The current hypothesis is that maintenance works installed temporary water-filled barriers and blocked the proper the air flow over the bridge deck. You can actually see them (red) in the video. It remains to be seen whether the bridge sustained any significant structural damage or whether it will reopen soon.

Weird stuff happening to a heavily-travelled suspension bridge in southern China. This is Humen Bridge () in Guangdong Province, and shortly after this began the bridge authorities shut down all traffic .

Wind conditions at the time were initially blamed, but obviously it wasn’t even windy enough to close the bridge for weather reasons. The bridge opened in 1997 (I’ve been on it several times myself) and has lived through hurricane-level storms every year, so it’s unlikely that some specific wind conditions caused this.

Experts are now looking into whether ongoing maintenance works changed the mass or aerodynamic shape, and thus changed the natural frequency of the bridge deck. Or, some component in the structure has degraded over time and finally started a domino effect.

The bridge deck continued to vibrate overnight and into the next day, so it remains closed.

As shown on the traffic cam caption, the bridge carries the G9411 expressway and is a major artery in the Pearl River Delta.

All I can say is, Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 05/06/2020 at 23:31

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rearwheelhorse > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 05/06/2020 at 23:33

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c h i n a

HammerheadFistpunch > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 05/06/2020 at 23:34

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I still love this ad.  

Just Jeepin' > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 05/06/2020 at 23:38

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Like I need more reasons than my acrophobia to be nervous on bridges.

There’s some crazy high bridge leading to, IIRC, Providence that really freaked me out as I drove a friend to the airport there. I wasn’t as nervous going up this wall as I was on that bridge.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Just Jeepin' 05/06/2020 at 23:42

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You must be thinking of the Braga bridge in Fall River

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 05/06/2020 at 23:43

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They must have changed something to mess with the harmonics of the structure. When things start moving that much something Is going to break

Brickman > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 05/06/2020 at 23:48

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Needs new shock absorbers :P

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 05/06/2020 at 23:52

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The OG Tacoma Narrows.....NOPE!

Just Jeepin' > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 05/06/2020 at 23:53

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If so, it doesn’t look as bad from the side. I just remember it being long and steep enough that I couldn’t see past its peak.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 05/06/2020 at 23:54

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Yeah most large bridges run pretty high over the water...don’t look down!

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > rearwheelhorse 05/06/2020 at 23:58

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Just Jeepin' > HammerheadFistpunch 05/07/2020 at 00:03

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I’d never seen that.

CompactLuxuryFan > rearwheelhorse 05/07/2020 at 00:08

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I don’t get how , in 2020, anybody in the US is reacting to this story with that “ooh well it was made in China” nonsense. This was on Imgur the other day and like half the comments were something to that effect. Hate to break it to ya, but infrastructure in the US is currently in terrible shape, not to mention puny in comparison with China’s. This is a 23 year old bridge that has so far been fine. Since this bridge was built, China has not only transformed but also built probably like 100x the massive bridges the US has . The new span project  for the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge was an embarrassment by modern bridge building standards. 

Derpwagon > CompactLuxuryFan 05/07/2020 at 00:36

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Touchy much?

Derpwagon > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 05/07/2020 at 00:37

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Resonant frequencies are fun.

Slap some Bilsteins in it, she'll be fine.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > CompactLuxuryFan 05/07/2020 at 01:25

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Today’s bridge engineering in China is nothing to scoff at as you say, but this was probably planned and engineered in the 1980s and 1990s.

Regardless, I’m sure they have the expertise to get down to what’s happening to this one. I just hope that they make a good assessment on the wear and tear (fatigue stress) caused by 2 straight days of constant rolling waves.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > CompactLuxuryFan 05/07/2020 at 01:41

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Also, t o be fair to the new Bay Bridge span, it is a very unusual single-tower design. And unlike China, California does not have the world’s biggest eminent domain hammer to get things done that quickly.

Cé hé sin > CompactLuxuryFan 05/07/2020 at 07:56

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You’re trying to introduce facts?? Away with you and your “facts”!

Facts have no place here.

rearwheelhorse > CompactLuxuryFan 05/07/2020 at 16:52

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How much did the CCP pay you for that comment? Must be a nice side gig.