11/27/2018 The Happy Pontist: Nervi Bridges: 2.

Corso di Francia Viaduct, Rome

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THE HAPPY PONTIST

A BLOG FROM THE UK ABOUT BRIDGES AND BRIDGE DESIGN

16 NOVEMBER 2010 ABOUT ME

Nervi Bridges: 2. Corso di Francia Viaduct, Rome THE HAPPY PONTIST

UNITED KINGDOM
In 1956, Pier Luigi Nervi became
involved in a number of structures I'm a bridge designer and admirer. All
for the 1960 Rome Olympics. Most opinions are my own and not those of
notably, this included the two my employer!
indoor sports arenas, Palazzo dello VIEW MY COMPLETE PROF ILE
Sport and Palazzetto dello Sport,
and the outdoor stadium at
Flaminio. It also included the Via BLOG ARCHIVE

Olimpica viaduct, now called the ► 2018 (47)

Corso di Francia Viaduct.
► 2017 (80)
► 2016 (38)
The Corso di Francia runs right through the middle of the Olympic
Village. Apparently, it divided the housing for male athletes, to the east, ► 2015 (41)
from that for female athletes, to the west, although any notion of ► 2014 (59)
propriety was ruined by the use of the viaduct by Italian men to spy
► 2013 (77)
into athlete's bedrooms (I don't know how true this story is).
► 2012 (90)
The road had to be elevated to ► 2011 (147)
allow free passage of athletes ▼ 2010 (140)
and spectators throughout the
► December (10)
site, and the use of T-shaped
piers by Nervi may have been an ▼ November (15)
attempt to maximise space at I-70 Wildlife Bridge Finalists
ground level and reduce visual Announced
obstruction (see picture left - all colour photos are courtesy of Nicolas London Bridges: 5. South Quay
Janberg at Structurae). Footbridge
Bridges news roundup
While the structure is more conventional than the two early bridge
Nervi Bridges: 6. Messina
designs I featured last time, it still has its share of idiosyncrasy.
Straits Bridge

The columns have an unusual varying section, Nervi Bridges: 5. Opera

from rectangular at the top to a cruciform Overpass, Ankara
section at the base. This enhances stability Nervi Bridges: 4. Ponte del
while also adding to the visual interest, and Risorgimento, Verona
Nervi frequently provided varying columns in Nervi Bridges: 3. California
his designs. The Palazzetto dello Sport has
Nervi Bridges: 2. Corso di
some, as does his roughly contemporary
Francia Viaduct, Rome
UNESCO building in Paris.
Nervi Bridges: 1. Early bridges
The beams are 16m long, precast and Footbridge proposed over River
prestressed, a simple and economical solution Trent at Gainsborou...

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11/27/2018 The Happy Pontist: Nervi Bridges: 2. Corso di Francia Viaduct, Rome

for bridge viaducts that seems unusual for Nervi, who was not a great Tower Bridge engineering tours
user of prestressing. More unusually, they are V-shaped in cross- Bridges news roundup
section, with a very narrow bottom flange, and with the top flanges
Fehmarn Link bridge images
placed in contact. The overall cross-section of each viaduct therefore
and video released
consists of a "corrugated" or V-wave profile, which is essentially similar
to the approach Nervi had taken on a number of roof structures, Providence River Pedestrian
including the Palazzo dello Sport. Bridge: Shortlisted de...
"Dan Cruickshank's Bridges:
Nervi's design for the viaduct is The Heroic Designs tha...
featured in Fritz Leonhardt's
► October (10)
Bridges. Leonhardt notes that
the bridge did not age well, with ► September (17)
water seeping through joints and ► August (9)
down the piers (I imagine the
► July (15)
deck was discontinuous, as on
► June (13)
the Midland Links viaducts in the UK, which have been notoriously
plagued with leakage and associated concrete degradation). ► May (7)
► April (10)
Leonhardt also criticises the adoption of column and crosshead piers to
► March (16)
support the deck beams. Although this is the most straightforward
solution to build, it is visually more congested than the alternative of ► February (11)
having the crosshead integral with the deck and within its depth. The ► January (7)
latter approach, however, requires temporary propping of the deck
► 2009 (135)
beams and construction of a more difficult joint detail.
► 2008 (59)
Further information:

Google maps / Bing maps

R E L AT E D L I N K S
Structurae
Bridge of the Month Quiz
Pier Luigi Nervi's works for the 1960 Rome Olympics [PDF], Iori
& Poretti, Actas del Cuarto Congreso Nacional de Historia de la BridgeForum
Construcción, Cádiz, 2005 Bridgemeister
Bridges in Slovakia
POSTED BY THE HAPPY PONTIST AT 9:41 PM
Bridges on the Tyne
LABELS: HIGHWAY BRIDGES, ITALY, PIER LUIGI NERVI
Brueckenweb
Cable-stayed bridges of Europe
Design Manual for Roads and Bridges
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