Construction Engineering of Phu My Cable-Stayed Bridge,
Vietnam
George Moir, Design Manager, Bilfinger Berger Civil; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Colin Edmonds, Principal, Cardno, Sydney,
Australia; Peter Walser, Project Manager and Martin Romberg, Structural Engineer; LAP, Stuttgart, Germany.
Contact: george.moir@bbbh.com.vn
Abstract
The Phu My Bridge spans the Saigon
River between Districts 7 and 2 of Ho
Chi Minh City (HCMC). The bridge
forms part of a new ring road currently
under construction around HCMC.
The ring road will be an important
transport link from the southern
Mekong Delta region to the central
and northern parts of Vietnam.
The Phu My Bridge contract includes
the design and construction of a 705 m
long cable-stayed main bridge with
a clear span of 380 m, as well as the
approach structures on either side
being approximately 758 m on District
7 and 638 m on District 2.
The main span deck is 27 m wide.
Clearance to river traffic is provided
with a 45 m vertical clearance in a 250 m
wide zone. The pylons carrying the
deck are designed as an H frame and
are approximately 140 m high.
The bridge was constructed by a joint
venture between two companies and
was completed in September 2009.
This paper describes the construction
engineering used during the stage by
stage analysis of the bridge and the on-
site role to control the cable forces and
bridge geometry during construction
of the bridge.
Keywords: cable-stayed bridge; con-
struction engineering analysis; pylon
construction; deck erection.
Introduction
The Phu My Bridge is a newly com-
pleted, cable-stayed bridge construc-
tion, in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), in
Vietnam. The bridge spans the Saigon
River between Districts 7 and 2 and
forms part of a new ring road currently
under construction around HCMC
(Fig. 1). The ring road will be an impor-
tant transport link from the southern
Mekong Delta region to the central
and northern parts of Vietnam.
The main port, which is located slightly
downstream (or south) of the city cen-
tre and is forecasted to be relocated
Structural Engineering International 3/2010
x010.indd 331
further downstream within the next
10 years, generates a considerable
amount of heavy-goods traffic. In
addition, a significant amount of goods
from manufacturing industries in the
Mekong Delta also travel up through
HCMC. This traffic currently crosses
the Saigon River at the most southerly
bridge, the Saigon Bridge, located in
the central district of HCMC. A reduc-
tion of the traffic congestion in the
centre of the city is necessary to ensure
efficient transportation conditions and
will be realized by the creation of an
inner ring road, including the large
Phu My Bridge over the Saigon River,
linking the Southeast quadrant to the
rest of the city.
An Engineering, Procurement and
Construction (EPC) contract was let
for the construction of the Phu My
Bridge. The project involved the design
and construction of a 2101 m long
viaduct including a 705 m long cable-
stayed main bridge with a clear span
of 380 m, as well as approach viaduct
structures on either side of the river,
being 758 m on District 7 and 638 m
on District 2.
Design of the permanent works was
split into two packages, the main
bridge design and that of the approach
structures. A separate design pack-
age was then created for the design
of the main bridge - temporary work
and construction engineering for the
main bridge. This paper focuses on
the construction engineering aspects,
particularly the work carried out prior
to construction and the ongoing role
of the construction engineer during
construction.
Description of the Main Bridge
The main bridge is a three span cable-
stayed bridge. The spans are 380 m for
central span and 162,50 m for each
back span (Fig. 2). The total height
of the pylons is 134,50 m above pile
caps’ levels and 93 m above deck level.
Clearance to river traffic is provided
with a minimum 45 m vertical clear-
ance at high tide, over a 250 m wide
zone at the centre of the bridge.
Substructure
Each main bridge pylon is founded
on two groups of 14 piles with 2,05 m
diameter, and up to 80 m depth (Fig. 3).
The underlying geology is of alluvial
deposits of alternating clay and sand
layers. The pile toe levels are within a
layer of dense sand.
Each pile cap is composed of two sec-
tions of reinforced mass concrete cap-
ping – each group of 14 piles. These are
locked together by means of a two-cell
box girder.
The pile cap construction was carried
out in phases within a shell of precast
concrete permanent formwork ele-
ments. These elements were fixed to
the steel pile casings and allowed con-
struction work to be carried out within
a dry working area. The lateral form-
work of the pile cap is made of precast
skirting panels, which extend below
water level.
Towers
The concrete pylons are H shaped.
Each leg is a box section, with outer
dimension varying from 5,50 m × 7 m
to 3 m × 5 m. The stay anchorages are
located inside the upper legs and are
in a vertical plane. The legs are linked
by two cross-beams, the lower of which
was precast before being lifted into its
final position (Fig. 4).
Tie-Down Piers
The tie-down piers are located at the
end of each cable-stayed back span.
They are twin rectangular concrete
columns – with vertical prestress,
supported on large-diameter bored
piles. The last three stay cables on the
back span are connected at the tie-
down pier location. The deck slab is
of solid concrete and is prestressed in
both the longitudinal and transverse
directions.
Superstructure
The total width of the main span deck
is 27 m; this incorporates three lanes
of traffic in each direction, two car and
truck lanes, a separated motorcycle
Technical Report 331
1/12/70 2:06:02 AM
 105°00'E 110°00'E
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC
OF CHINA
HANOI

Haiphong
VIETNAM
20°00'N Gulf of
Tonkin
20°00'N Phu my bridge approach roads project
Vinh
LAO
PEOPLE’S
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC
Da Nang NH 13
PR 16 NH 1A
NH 1A
Quy Nhon

CAMBODIA
NH 1K
PROJECT AREA
Nha Trang
Da Lat
Gulf of
Thailand Ho Chi Minh City

10°00'N Vung Tau 10°00'N

South China Sea

105°00'E 110°00'E

Tan Son Nhat

Airport

Rach Chiec District 9

Bridge
Ho Chi Minh City
PR 25

n R ive
District 2

NH 10

ig o
National capital E
City/Town
Se
Ring road no. 2 (missing sections)

r
ive
Ring road No. 2 (existing) Phu My Bridge
Hung Vuong

iR
Primary road Huynh Tan Phat

Na
Flyover (to be constructed)

ng
Flyover (existing)
Do
W Western approach road
District 7 PR 15
E Eastern approach road
Nguyen Van Lin

NH National highway
PR Provincial road PR 34
River PHU MY
0 1 BRIDGE
2 3 4 5

International boundary
NH 50 Kilometers
Boundaries are not necessarily NH 1A
authoritative.
h

Fig. 1: Phu My Bridge forms a critical element of the new ring road

lane and footways for pedestrians controlling load cases on the tower
(Fig. 5). were caused by high-wind events and
the forces created by the inclined
There are two vertical planes of stay
geometry (Fig. 6):
cables. The structure of the deck is
composed of two longitudinal con-
– Constructing a 56 m tower leg and
crete girders linked by transverse
installing the temporary lower strut/
prestressed concrete cross girders at
lifting beam 48 m above the pile cap.
5 m centres. The stay cables are con-
The lower strut was used to control
nected to the longitudinal edge beams
the forces and deflections in the
by precast anchor pods located at 10 m
tower leg and also for heavy lifting
intervals.
the lower cross-beam.
– Constructing the lower cross-beam
Construction Method on the pile cap by attaching the pier
table falsework.
Tower Construction – Lifting the lower cross-beam and
The towers were built in 4 m lifts pier table falsework using the lower
using an enclosed jump form and by strut. This heavy lift involved lift-
adopting the following sequence. The ing the 1200 t assembly 30 m into
position. With the cross-beam in its
correct position, casting the in situ
concrete stitch thereby securing the
lower cross-beam to the tower leg.
– Once the lower cross-beam was con-
nected, the pier table had to be cast.
This was done in three 10 m stages
to complete a 30 m section of deck.
Deck construction was started as
early as possible in parallel with
ongoing tower construction.
– Continuation of building the tower
legs and installing the temporary
intermediate strut 70 m above
the pile cap. The lower strut was
removed. The intermediate strut is
a needle beam used to control the
forces in the tower legs. It is also
used to support a catch platform for

332 Technical Report Structural Engineering International 3/2010

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 West tie - down pier
Tower 7
Western approach
structure
705,00
162,50 380,00
5,20 190,00
West bearing
District 7
Mid span
Z = +51,25
Z = +46,50
Z = +38,375
5%
Navigational clearance
Refer. el +0,00 250,00
Sai gon river
−65,00
−80,00
Fig. 2: Main bridge profile (Units: m)
a survey was carried out, prior to
making a final adjustment to the
cable length.
Deck Construction
The following overall construction
sequence was used for the main bridge
(Fig. 7).
Build Deck Out from D7 Tower
The deck is constructed one segment at
a time starting on the river side, by fol-
lowing the sequence described in the
Fig. 3: Pile group layout and precast form- next section. The sequence between the
work two sides was partially offset to reduce
the out of balance moments and speed
up the construction, that is, the travel-
safety during the construction of the ler on the river side was launched to
upper cross-beam.
the next segment prior to casting the
– Installation of the temporary upper land side segment.
strut. The upper strut acts as both
a brace for the tower legs and as Install Buffeting Cables
support for the formwork of the
upper cross-beam. Construction of After seven segments are cast on both
sides the buffeting cables are installed.
the upper cross-beam followed by
removal of the intermediate and Only the land side is tensioned. The
river side is kept slack unless high
upper struts and completion of the
tower leg construction. winds occur (greater than 20 m/s gust
at 10 m elevation). This limits the
– Installation and stressing the first
stays to the pier table section. bending moments in the tower at the
Releasing and lowering the pier deck level.
table formwork then lifting of the
Install Temporary Tie-Down Cables
form travellers into position. At this
stage, the geometry of the deck is After 11 segments, the temporary tie-
controlled by the length of the stays down cables are installed on the land
more than the force as the deck is side. The land side buffeting cables
free to pivot on the bearing. The are released and the river side is kept
stays were installed up to 75% of under tension. This limits the bending
their installation force. At this stage moments in the whole tower.
Structural Engineering International 3/2010
x010.indd 333
East tie - down pier
Tower 2
Eastern approach
structure
162,50
190,00 5,20
District 2
Z = +46,50 Z = +38,375
5%
45,00
−50,00
−70,00
D7 Side Span Closure
After 15 segments are cast, the 1,5 m
long side span closure is cast. A survey
is carried out prior to the closure and
the deck is positioned by releasing the
temporary tie-down cables. The pour
is carried out in the evening to limit
the effects of temperature on the new
concrete.
Move Travellers and Repeat for D2
Deck
After the side span closure is complete,
the three remaining river side segments
are cast and the travellers are moved
to the D2 side to repeat the process.
Main Span Closure
The 10 m main span closure is cast
using one of the travellers. A full sur-
vey and adjustment of the stay cables
are carried out prior to casting. After
casting, the SDL loads are placed and
any further stay adjustments if neces-
sary are carried out.
Deck Segment Construction Cycle
The deck is constructed in bal-
anced cantilever starting from each
tower. The 10 m long segments are
cast using a form traveller (Fig. 8).
The typical erection sequence is as
follows:
– Casting of new segment. On the
morning after casting, carrying out
an “as-built” survey.
Technical Report 333
1/12/70 2:06:06 AM
 CL of tower
26,300
3,000 20,300 3,000 5,000

Stay N-18 Stay N-18

(Tower heads)
37,400
Upper cross beam

Cables
(Upper legs)

Stay N-1 Stay N-1

61,715

Bridge deck

34,957 10,00 10,00 10,00 10,00 10,00 10,00

3,00 28,957 3,00
5%

7,000
Lower cross
(Lower legs)

beam
35,385

44,921
5,50 33,921 5,50

∇ Reference
level + 0,00

Fig. 4: Pylon layout and lower cross-beam heavy lift

11,65 11,65

2,15 3,00 0,55 7,50 0,30 0,30 7,50 0,55 3,00 2,15

2 Lanes at 3,75 2 Lanes at 3,75

Fig. 5: Deck cross section (Units: m)

– Moving the rolling beam and stress- of the traveller and adjusting align-
ing of front cross girder. Required ment if required.
concrete strength is 30 MPa. – Placing the precast cross girders and
– Destressing and removing stress edge beam reinforcement cages.
bars at anchor pods and restressing Required concrete strength is 40
the stay cable. Required concrete MPa.
strength is 30 MPa. – Starting installation of deck rein-
– Removing the longitudinal strut. forcement. Up to 25 t of rebar could
Lowering the traveller and stressing be placed before stay installation.
of the rear cross girder. Required – Installation of longitudinal struts
concrete strength is 35 MPa. between anchor pods and the previ- Fig. 6: Tower construction
– Launching the traveller halfway ous segment.
towards the new position. – Installation and stressing of stay
– Installation of precast anchor pods cable. The stay cable is attached to
during the launch. the anchor pod which is in turn con- the load is transferred to the pre-
– Completing the launch and raising nected to the traveller using stress vious segment via the longitudinal
the traveller. Surveying the position bars. The horizontal component of strut. The vertical load component

334 Technical Report Structural Engineering International 3/2010

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 Phu my cable stayed bridge Phu my cable stayed bridge
deck construction sequence deck construction sequence

Late October 08′ Late November 08′

District 7 District 2 District 7 District 2

Sta
Stay

Sta
09

Sta
y7
7102
5

71

06

y7
20
10

y7
7202

71
y 9
y7

20
20
Sta
Stay

6
Sta

Sta
5

+1.49 +1.49

Completion of stage WM05 at 29 Oct. 08′ Completion of stage WM09 at 20 Nov. 08′
based on August 08′ programme based on August 08 programme

Phu my cable stayed bridge Phu my cable stayed bridge

deck construction sequence deck construction sequence

Mid December 08′ Late January 09′

District 7 District 2

District 7 District 2
Stay
Sta 7218

ST2201

Stay21
y 72
14

01
+1.49
Sta Sta
ST2201

y7 y7
ST2101

21 21
3 0 3
11 0
11
y7 y7
Sta Sta

+1.49

Completion of stage WM13 at 13 Dec. 08′ Completion of stage WM18 at 23 Jan. 09′
based on August 08′ programme based on August 08′ programme

Phu my cable stayed bridge Phu my cable stayed bridge

deck construction sequence deck construction sequence
Mid March 09′ Early July 09′
District 7 District 2 District 7 District 2
5
20

Stay

Sta
02
y2

ST22

y
Sta

21
2102

05

+1.49 +1.49

Completion of stage EM05 at 21 Mar. 09′ Completion of closure at 01 July. 09′

based on August 08′ programme based on August 08′ programme

Fig. 7: Deck sequence

of this first stay force is kept con- Construction Engineer Role – The best estimate of the time
stant at about 100 t for each stay, required for construction, as it was
which helps to support the travel- Construction Engineer Role—Design important to accurately determine
ler during casting of the concrete. Phase the time-dependant effects.
Required concrete strength was – When to install the stay cable.
45 MPa. The contractor engaged a design con- – When to install the temporary tie-
sultant to carry out the construction down cables and when and how
– Completion of deck reinforcement
engineering and the design of some of often to restress.
and carrying out pre-pour survey
the major temporary works. Prior to – When to dismantle the forms and
and casting new segment.
commencing on site construction, the supports at the pier tables for both
After the initial learning phase, this construction engineer and the contrac- the tower and the tie-down pier.
cycle was regularly achieved in five tor agreed on the following: – Exact local sequences, for typical
days with the side span cycle lag- segment construction as well as for
ging two days behind the main span – Weights and requirements for major side span and main span closure
cycle. temporary works items. procedures.

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Rolling beam
Strength
45 MPa
Fig. 8: Formwork traveller
Once this was done, the construc-
tion engineer modelled the sequence
including consideration of the time-
dependant effects. To do this, a sophis-
ticated stage by stage analysis of the
bridge was carried out.
The software program also featured an
efficient solution provider that deter-
mined the forces to be applied at each
stay installation such that the forces at
the end of construction were the same
as those calculated by the permanent
works designer. This was done by the
program by solving a set of simulta-
neous equations with the constraints
being the final stay forces, tower forces
and so on. The input variables were the
stay stressing forces and other adjust-
ments such as jacking forces prior to
the closure pours.
Once the stay forces were calculated,
the camber curves and support reac-
tions could be calculated. The purpose
of the analysis was to achieve a clear
understanding of the following:
– Exact forces and deflections of all
parts during all erection stages.
– Forces in the buffeting cables and
temporary tie-down cables.
– Forces in the temporary falsework
at the hold-down pier.
The analysis also calculated adjustment
values to account for variations in:
– temperature conditions;
– construction live loads.
336 Technical Report
x010.indd 336
Fi (ca
rs bl
ts es
tr ag
es )
sin
g
P/T in place
Strut
The erection analysis was based on the
results of the permanent works design
and took into account the most accu-
rate actual parameters, dimensions and
weights. While doing this, special care
was taken to address the following:
– dead weight, actual concrete density
and reinforcement content;
– section properties;
– P/T forces;
– shrinkage and creep values.
The object of the analysis was to esti-
mate as closely as possible both the
position of the bridge and the built-
in forces provided by the permanent
works design, in order to be consist-
ent with the final design assumptions.
In addition, an erection stress analysis
was carried out to ensure that—the
structural capacity of all the bridge ele-
ments would not be exceeded at any of
the individual erection stages.
On the basis of their previous experi-
ence in cable-stayed bridges and work-
ing in Vietnam, the contractor had a
clear view of how to construct the bridge
with speed and cost-effectiveness.
Construction Engineer Role—
Construction Phase
During construction, the role of the
construction engineer included the fol-
lowing responsibilities:
– Monitor the survey results.
Structural Engineering International 3/2010
– Adjust traveller alignment to create
the correct pre-camber.
– Adjust restress force to account for
deck loading, temperature and stay
forces.
– Advise contractor on possible
changes to construction sequence.
Following casting of a deck segment,
the following information was obtained
the next morning:
– A survey was carried out on the last
four segments—on the leading edge
plus the tower.
– In addition, a load map was pre-
pared based on the major loading
on the deck such as reinforcement
stock, strand, mobile crane and so
on (Fig. 9).
– A lift-off test was carried out on the
cable in the new segment to deter-
mine the actual stay force.
The survey was compared with the pre-
dicted position of the deck and tower
for that stage. An adjustment was made
for the actual loads on the deck, cable-
stayed force and temperature. From
this analysis, the construction engineer
determined the restress length of the
stay cable and the appropriate align-
ment values for the next traveller posi-
tion. This information was required
by the site team within a few hours in
order to avoid delay in the construc-
tion cycle.
Adjustments to the traveller alignment
shims affect the local curvature while
changes to the stay force have a greater
effect on the overall geometry of the
bridge. During construction, the results
from the survey were studied to check
the accuracy of the analysis. Some of
the variables for which sensitivity anal-
ysis was carried out included:
– Variation in traveller weight: The
design had an assumed traveller
weight of 210 t. When it was lifted,
the weight of the traveller was found
to be 235 t. An update of the analysis
was therefore carried out.
– Deck stiffness: The deflections of
the deck depend on the modulus of
Fig. 9: Balanced cantilever deck
construction
1/12/70 2:06:19 AM
 Fig. 10: Finished bridge
elasticity of the concrete used and
also the effective width of the deck
section.
– Stay stiffness: The strand used was
provided with test certificates giving
the area and modulus of elasticity.
– Deck weight: The deck weight
included in the design allowed for
an assumed reinforcement rate. A
comparison was carried out with the
density of the actual concrete and
reinforcement used and the original
assumption.
– Traveller stiffness: The traveller was
modelled separately using a three
dimensional (3D) program with all
the members to calculate its stiff-
ness. The computed stiffness of the
traveller was compared with the
true stiffness and analysed from
measurements made on-site under
actual loading conditions.
During the construction of the bridge
deck, it was noted that the deflections
of the bridge were greater than those
predicted by the model. As noted there
are several possible reasons for this
occurance; however, one of the more
likely reason seemed to be an increase
in the traveller and deck weights.
Structural Engineering International 3/2010
x010.indd 337
During the erection of the bridge, the the bridge to be opened for traffic in
stay forces were slightly increased to September 2009, (Fig. 10).
account for these deflections.
Conclusion SEI Data Block
Owner:
In summary, this paper highlights some
of the features used for the speedy con- Phu My Bridge Corporation
struction of a cable-stayed bridge. Contractor:
Bilfinger Berger Baulderstone
The project required significant Hornibrook (BBBH Consortium)
planning and design to agree with
and optimize the construction meth- Designers:
Arcadis (Permanent Works Main
ods. This involved considerable col-
Bridge)
laboration between the contractor
Cardno/Golders (Permanent Works
and the construction engineer and Approach Structures)
resulted in relatively few issues Cardno/Leonhardt, Andrä und
occurring during the construction Partners (Temp. Works and Const.
process and a rapid achievement of Eng.)
the five day construction cycle with a
Employers representative:
short “learning process”. The role of
Maunsell (AECOM) Vietnam
the construction engineer both dur-
ing the preconstruction and the con- Steel (t): 17 000
struction phase formed an important Concrete (m³): 100 000
part of this project.
Prestressing steel and stay
A contract duration of 34 months was cables (t): 2000
originally anticipated with the project Estimated cost (USD million):
scheduled to be opened to traffic by approx. 105
the end of 2009. Construction was how-
Service date: 2 September 2009
ever completed in 30 months, allowing
Technical Report 337
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