Kuparuk river submersible bridges and roadways

摘要

In the late 1970's, a "Spine Road" was constructed to connect the Kuparuk oil field to the existing infrastructure at Prodhoe Bay/Deadhorse, Alaska. Where the Spine Road crossed the Kuparuk River Central Channel, a 91-m (300-ft) bridge was constructed in conjunction with a 323-m (1060-ft) submersible low water roadway in 1981. The Kuparuk River East and West Channels were built with gravel roads that were breached and allowed to wash out during annual spring breakup. The design of the new, permanent Kuparuk River East and West Channel crossings, currently under construction, is described in the following paper. The crossings will pass the peak spring breakup flows of the Kuparuk River channels through and across the Spine Road by using a combination of submersible bridges and paved low water roadways. During periods of low flow, the river channels will pass beneath the low water bridges.