Project overview
This project is a steel pedestrian bridge in Dubai. Wrenze Steel built the 3D steel model of the bridge for the consultant, Parsons.
The model on this page shows the full bridge. A steel truss with an arched top chord carries the walkway across, resting on a central support, and stacked stair and ramp structures at each end bring people up from ground level. The design drawings show the same arrangement in section, with two arched spans either side of the central column.
Our scope
Our scope was modelling. The bridge design came from the consultant, and our job was to turn that design into an accurate 3D model of every steel member.
A model at this stage does several jobs:
- it fixes the true geometry of curved chords, sloping ramps and stair flights, which is hard to read from 2D drawings alone;
- it shows where members meet, so clashes and awkward connections are found before fabrication;
- it becomes the base for shop drawings, material lists and erection planning.
The structure
A footbridge over a road combines three structural parts.
The main spans cross the road, with a central column between them. Here each span is an arched truss: the arch carries load mainly in compression, and the truss members tie it to the deck so the whole span acts as one deep, stiff unit.
The stairs and ramps are separate frames that climb from ground to deck level. Ramps for wheelchairs and bicycles are long, because their slope is limited, so they often fold back on themselves in several flights.
The supports take the bridge’s load to the foundations. Their positions are set by the road, the services below it and the space at the footpaths.
Modelling these parts together shows how they connect. Small errors in level or angle at a ramp landing can grow along a long ramp, so the model checks every junction before steel is cut.
Read about our steel shop drawings and detailing service, see our other bridge projects, or request a quote for your bridge modelling.
