Stonecutters Bridge: design of foundations.

For Stonecutters Bridge, Hong Kong, the foundation support is most efficiently provided by bored piles utilising end bearing and friction in the hard rock stratum, which is typically between 45 m and 67 m below ground level on the east side and between 48 m and 75 m below ground level on the west side. Local areas of deeper weathering are observed beneath the west tower and the adjacent back-span pier. The foundations for each pier and tower comprise a thick reinforced concrete cap supported on a grid of large-diameter, bored piles. The bored piles are socketted in rock and typically enlarged at the base up to 1·5 times the pile shaft diameter to provide resistance through both shaft friction and end bearing with no contribution from the overlying superficial deposits. The design used an iterative process to achieve compatibility between the bridge superstructure and substructure. Additional considerations for seismic loads and ship impact were also taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]