All language subtitles for Building.Giants.S05E02.1080p.WEB.h264-CBFM_track3_[eng]

[narrator] In Denmark,

this elite team of engineers is
embarking on an epic endeavor.

They're building a colossal
two-and-a-half-mile-long bridge

to connect Scandinavia
to mainland Europe

like never before.

It's not every day you build
a bridge like this.

Constructed from nearly
30,000 tons of steel

and more than 3.5 million cubic
feet of concrete...

We can't afford any mistakes.

...to build this megaproject,
the team must work

at precarious heights...

If somebody went over the side
of the bridge, it would be very

difficult to come back
from that.

...and battle extreme
temperatures.

No room for error.
No, definitely.

This gigantic bridge
ranks in a league

of ambitious new
engineering wonders

that are bigger,
faster, taller,

and more advanced than anything
ever constructed before.

This is the inside story of
the extraordinary challenge

of building these giants.

Denmark, in Northern Europe.

The country is made up
of 444 islands

that straddle the North
and Baltic seas.

Danes rely on a network
of mega bridges to get around.

One of the most important is
the Storstrom Bridge.

It carries traffic and trains
and links the islands of

Falster to Zealand,

home to Denmark's capital
city, Copenhagen.

The Storstrom Bridge was
a marvel of engineering when it

was built in 1937.

But it doesn't match up to
the demands of modern travel.

The bridge's north end
has two sharp curves

where it meets land.

Trains must slow down to just
50 miles per hour

to cross it safely.

The road has a 31-mile-per-hour
speed limit and is too narrow

to handle the ever increasing
volumes of traffic.

The bridge is beginning to
crumble after 90 years of wind,

rain, and snow.

Now, a team of engineers is
attempting to build

a new bridge
to replace the old one.

This superhighway will
carry pedestrians,

cars, and the latest generation
of high-speed trains.

It will be part of a wider
infrastructure upgrade

between Denmark and Germany,

The Fehmarnbelt project,
the world's longest

immersed underwater tunnel

that will slash journey times
between Scandinavia

and mainland Europe.

Constructing this mega bridge
over the choppy,

ice-cold and bustling shipping
lane here will be

a unique challenge.

Their target is
to complete the bridge

within just eight years to open
in the spring of 2026.

Failure to meet this deadline
will have disastrous

consequences for the budget

of this
400-million-dollar project.

The pressure is on design
manager Barbara Macaulay

to deliver the bridge on time.

Storstrom in Danish means "big
current," and building that

in this environment

with the currents, the winds,
the ice-cold winters,

it is an overwhelming task.

The new Storstrom Bridge will
be an epic feat of engineering.

It will stretch almost
two and a half miles.

44 piers resting on the seabed
rise out of the water.

The central tower, known as
a pylon, soars 335 feet

into the air.

36 steel cable stays connect
the central pylon

to the bridge deck below.

The deck supports two
high-speed railway lines,

a two-lane road,
and a combined pedestrian

walkway and cycleway.

Constructing this new bridge
won't be easy.

The bridge must be both long
to span the Storstrom Strait

and tall to allow cargo vessels
to pass underneath.

To cross the Storstrom Strait,
engineers must first sink

the giant foundations
that support the 44 piers.

A skilled team of engineers
make each one at

a purpose-built workshop
on site.

First, they cast the base plate
in concrete.

Next, they build a hollow
concrete tower at the center,

which will stand six-and-a-half
feet above sea level.

Each foundation block measures
around 65-by-65 feet.

They must sit within just two
inches of pre-designated spots

on the seabed.

This is how they'll do it.

First, engineers must excavate
holes underwater

at the 44 pier sites.

They fill each hole with 3,300
tons of gravel to level

off the seabed.

Next, a special barge floats

each of the pier foundation
blocks into the channel.

Each weighs 2,750 tons.

A huge catamaran crane lifts

and then lowers the foundation
blocks onto the seabed

to sit exactly
on the gravel pads.

A special heavy-duty barge will
then sink the supersized

13,200-ton foundation
for the main pylon.

Engineers must place
the foundations

with absolute precision.

Trains will cross the bridge
at 124 miles an hour.

A misalignment could shake
the train, damage the track,

or make the ride unsafe.

[Barbara]
There's absolutely no room
for errors.

The whole team is under
enormous pressure.

Construction begins in 2018.

First, workers
excavate the seabed.

They dig 44 holes for each
foundation and fill them with

gravel to create
a level surface.

Next, it's time to install
the 44 pier foundation blocks.

It will take workers anywhere
between six and 24 hours to set

each pier foundation
into place.

The biggest variable
is the weather.

Any change in wind speed could
cause a giant concrete pier

to sway dangerously
as the crane lifts it
from the barge.

Placing these large
elements in the middle

of the sea

in waves and currents.

And with this really tight
tolerance of five centimeters,

it's quite nerve-wracking.

The team moves the first huge
pier foundation.

The workers use massive
motorized trailers to carry

the huge chunks of concrete
and steel onto a waiting barge.

Tugs drag the barge into
the Storstrom Strait

to where a special floating
crane is waiting.

The crane maintains a precise
position above the target

deployment area.

The team attaches the crane's
arms to the pier foundation

ahead of the lift.

The sea is calm and winds
are light.

For now.

Two pairs of huge winches lift
the block into the air.

A tug pulls the barge away
from the crane.

The winches reverse direction
to lower the block

below the water.

The block descends 23 feet
to the seabed

and hits its mark.

Over the next 40 months,
engineers install the remaining

43 foundation blocks.

Now comes
the toughest challenge.

At the center of the bridge
will be a pylon,

standing 335 feet tall,
five times the height

of the surrounding piers.

But it will need a supersized
foundation to support

its towering height
and massive weight.

Engineers in Denmark are racing
to complete

the two-and-a-half-mile-long
new Storstrom Bridge.

It's a crucial part of a wider
transportation plan to link

mainland Germany
to Scandinavia.

A team of specialized workers
make the pylon foundation

in a purpose-built
fabrication yard right next to

the Storstrom Strait.

They cut 1,045 tons
of steel rebar

and pour nearly 177 thousand
cubic feet

of concrete to
make the structure.

The finished foundation stands
seven stories high and weighs

a staggering 13,000 tons.

The barge and crane
the team use to position

the 44 pier foundations

are too small to place
this megastructure.

The engineer's solution is
to attach a supersized,

square-shaped buoyancy aid
to the top of the foundation.

This huge red steel structure
has a pair of air tanks

on each side.

They allow the engineers
to sink the foundation.

Engineers roll the giant
structure onto a special

semi-submersible barge.

Tugs pull the barge
to the middle of

the Storstrom Strait.

Once the barge is positioned
above the drop zone,

engineers pump water
into its ballast tanks,

and the deck slowly descends
beneath the sea.

The giant water wings on
the pylon foundation keep

the huge block of concrete
and steel afloat

as it detaches
from the sinking barge.

Next comes the most challenging
part of the operation.

The team must place
the mega foundation block

precisely on the sea floor.

The engineers deploy
a special team of divers.

Divers go down and check that
it's in the right location

and also that there's no gaps
underneath any of the corners.

The divers signal that
the block's position is good.

The team opens the valves

on the foundation
block's water wings

and fills them
with water.

The block descends slowly
and makes contact with

the sea floor.

A team of workers places
the bridge's 44 piers

on top of their
foundation blocks.

Another team pours 60,000 cubic
feet of concrete

into steel frames

to build the bridge's
335-foot-tall central pylon.

First stage of the mighty build
is complete.

Next, the engineers must
construct and install

the huge bridge deck

that will carry high-speed
trains between Scandinavia

and Central Europe.

Now, the engineers are ready
to install the girders.

These are the bridge's
supersized sections of deck

that will carry trains,
road traffic, and pedestrians.

These girders are
absolutely massive.

Each element is 25 meters wide,
73 meters long,

and weighs 4,000 tons.

This is how Barbara
and her team will do it.

First, the team constructs
44 giant girders in a special

factory next to the bridge.

Then, engineers load a finished
girder onto a barge.

Tugboats tow it into position
between two piers.

Special lifting towers
on each pier

connect to four lifting arms
on each girder.

The towers lift the girder
85 feet above the water.

Engineers secure it to the pier
with steel and concrete.

In this huge temporary
factory, a team of 120 people

work around the clock
to make the girders.

First, specialized fabricators
cut and connect 468 tons of

steel rods, known as rebars,
to make the girder's skeleton.

Next, they install
huge V-shaped supports.

Workers then pour nearly 57,000
cubic feet of concrete

into the girder's frame.

It takes this team two months
to make one complete

240-foot-long girder.

A pair of mighty hydraulic
pistons pull the 4,000 ton

girder out from
the fabrication shed.

And onto motorized trailers.

These roll the girder
onto a barge.

Tugboats haul the barge and
its cargo to the first pair of

piers in the Storstrom Strait.

The installation of the first
girder begins.

Precision is key.

One wrong move and the girder
will collide with the pier.

There's absolutely no room
for errors because, I mean,

worst case, you can imagine one
of these girder elements ending

up in the harbor.

Next, workers use cables
to attach the girder to

the lifting towers on top
of the piers.

The first lift of the girder
is just

nerve-wracking.

Lifting an element this size

so high in the air with such
tight tolerances with lifting

equipment that we haven't tried
before, it's a mad task.

Two pairs of winches
on the towers turn in unison.

The girder lifts up
off the barge.

The lifting towers raise
the girder section into the air

at a speed of six-and-a-half
feet per hour.

It takes 12 hours to lift it
into its final position.

Next, a team of engineers must
secure the girder to the pier.

They fit a rebar frame between
the two giant structures

and fill it with concrete.

After 12 hours of work,
the first girder installation

is complete.

Over the next two years,
the team makes

hauls,

floats,

and lifts the remaining
43 girders.

The bridge deck is in place.

The next challenge for
the engineers is how to hold up

this giant span for the next
120 years.

In Denmark, engineers
are six years into the build of

the country's newest
mega bridge.

The new Storstrom Bridge
stretches two-and-a-half miles

between the islands
of Zealand and Falster.

The Storstrom Strait is a busy
shipping route for vessels in

the Western Baltic.

Container ships weighing as
much as 7,700 tons must be able

to pass under the bridge
quickly and safely,

and the bridge must be tough
enough to withstand an impact

from a fully laden cargo ship.

The ship impact is a real risk
to the structure.

You can't afford
a superstructure collapse.

The engineers of the new
Storstrom Bridge build in

critical safety features
to prevent a catastrophe.

First, they fit a T-shaped
metal joint called a shear key

to the top of each of
the 44 piers.

The shear keys transfer
the force of a major impact

from the pier to
the bridge deck.

This helps the piers absorb
the shock of a collision

with a container ship.

Next, the designers of
the bridge make the girders

on either side of the pylon
extra wide.

Each girder spans 525 feet

to give even
the largest container ships

enough clearance
to pass underneath.

The pair of super-long central
girders weighs 8,800 tons.

The girders are too heavy
to support their own weight.

So, engineers use 145-foot-tall
temporary piers to hold them up

while they complete
the next stage

of this mega building project.

Engineers run a total of
36 hollow casing tubes from

the bridge deck
to the central pylon.

The longest tubes measure
nearly 530 feet.

Next, they thread a total
of 3,000 steel cables through

the casing tubes and fix them
at both ends.

Then, engineers tension
each strand individually

until they're
the correct tightness.

Finally, the engineers can
remove the temporary piers.

Ilona Hall oversees this
critical cable installation.

Welcome to my office.

Outside in the elements,
room with a view.

Ilona's team must complete
the task within four months

for the project
to stay on track.

It's very important that
the stay cables are installed

at exactly correctly.

There's very tight tolerances
on the loads, the lengths,

and the positioning of the stay
cables relative to

the pylon and the deck.
It's got to be perfect.

A lot of lives depend on this
bridge being

structurally sound.

The team works for three days
to install 36 hollow tubes.

Now it's time to fit
the 3,000 steel cables.

Workers fasten one end
of a cable to a guide.

Then a special pulley hauls
the cable through the hollow

casing up to where it
meets the pylon.

A special crew secures
the cable to an anchor point.

Up here, workers perch on
a tiny platform exposed

to the elements.

[Ilona]
Up at the top of the pylon,
we're measuring the wind

constantly so that if the gust
speed exceeds our limit,

then we will stop
works activities.

Time is a critical element
when you're constructing.

Every day is money.

Today, the winds are light,
and the team is making

rapid progress.

They thread the other end of
the cable down into the girder.

Here, another team fastens it
to an anchor point.

They use a super strong
hydraulic jack to tension

each strand.

The jack will pull
that strand tighter

to put the load into each
individual strand.

The strands are parallel.

They must remain parallel
at the bottom and the top.

So there's a sequence
which we stress.

The team repeats the process
for every strand.

Ilona checks for defects
and signs off.

[Ilona]
Today has gone really well.

They are very efficient

at doing all
the individual components,

working together as a team,
in deck, in the pylon,

outside the pylon,
all working together.

Finishing the stay cables
on the bridge is

an important milestone.

Putting the stay cables in is
almost that last piece of

the puzzle to the bridge
supporting itself.

Next comes the ultimate test
for the newly installed cables.

Engineers prepare to remove
the temporary piers that

support each giant
girder section.

If the cables fail,
the girders could

become unstable.

Repairing them would
take months.

Engineers unlock the temporary
piers from beneath

the girder sections,

and a special barge tows
them away.

For the first time,
the bridge supports

its own weight.

The operation to install
the cables is a success.

Engineers in Denmark are racing
to complete the new

Storstrom Bridge.

The bridge must open
in 18 months' time.

The pressure is on for design
manager Barbara and her team.

This huge project is obviously
very costly, so the quicker

we can complete the bridge
and open it, the better

for everyone.

The team's next challenge is
to build the bridge deck on top

of the girders.

The deck must support three
types of transportation,

two high-speed rail lines,
a two-lane road,

and a combined pedestrian
and bike path.

The deck of the old Storstrom
Bridge measures 48 feet across.

It has two car lanes,
a narrow walkway

for pedestrians,
and a single low-speed

rail line.

The deck of the new Storstrom
Bridge is nearly 35 feet wider

than the old bridge.

Its two car lanes are both
11 and a half feet wide,

and it has
two high-speed rail lines.

It rests on the shoulders of
architect Jesper Henriksen to

design a cross section this
wide that can support

this extra weight.

When building a bridge with
both rail and boat,

then we have different options.

Of course, the first option is,
of course, to have two

independent decks.

I mean, that's like the very
fast and easy way.

But on this one, we choose to
have one combined deck section.

To have both rail and road
combine them is, of course,

a big challenge
for the engineers.

We got some massive forces
that we have to get together

and down into the piers.

The load distribution across
the deck of the new bridge

is uneven.

One side must support
the weight of the heavy track

and the 660-ton high-speed
passenger trains

that roll across it.

The other side must support
the lighter road

surface and vehicle traffic.

The bridge's design must
balance the two sides

to prevent
a catastrophic collapse.

To fix this,

engineers design the bridge
girders with a longitudinal

beam and V-shaped delta frames
made from concrete and steel.

These stiffen the girder
and redistribute the forces

from the heavier side
of the deck.

Then, engineers abandon
traditional heavy railway

ballast stones and sleepers.

Instead, they lay 1,500
concrete slab tracks.

These are much lighter.

Engineers mount rails on top.

Each is 590 feet long
and weighs 11 tons.

Finally, they fix the slabs
in position with concrete.

Today, design manager
Marco Raimondi

inspects the delta frames

that strengthen the two
critical central girders.

These delta frames essentially
stiffen the box of the girder,

and they prevent the distortion
when we have an unbalanced load

from the rail.

The delta frame also supports
this central beam that is

running longitudinally.

On the bridge deck above,
a crew installs the tracks that

will carry the high speed
trains between

Germany and Scandinavia.

A regular railway uses stone
ballast and sleepers

to support the track.

The advantage of these is that
workers can adjust them easily.

But ballast and sleepers
are too heavy to use

on the new Storstrom Bridge.

The engineer's lightweight
solution is called slab track.

This is a continuous line of
concrete slabs that have

special fastenings to secure
the metal rails.

First, workers lay 1,500 slabs
along the length of

the bridge deck.

Next, they use rollers to
install 590 foot long sections

of steel rails.

32 clamps on each slab track
lock the rails into place.

Finally, the workers use
concrete to bond the slabs

to the bridge.

[Marco]
It's an operation that requires
extreme care.

The rail has to be positioned
within one centimeters, both in

plan and in elevation from
the nominal alignment.

Fixing a misaligned slab will
be time consuming and could

delay the opening
of the bridge.

No room for error.
No, definitely.

Marco inspects the final
length of slab track to make

sure all the blocks
are lined up correctly

before they're concreted
into place.

[Marco]
The final completion of
the rail is the end of

a very long process.

It feels definitely
as a great achievement.

We're ready to go.

Engineers in Denmark
are racing to complete

the new Storstrom Bridge.

The megastructure must
withstand at least 120 years

of punishing Baltic winters.

Almost half a mile to the east
is a reminder of what could

happen if they fail.

The old Storstrom Bridge opened
in 1937.

An inspection in 2011 revealed
significant damage

to its concrete
and steel components.

It now requires regular
monitoring and costly

maintenance to
ensure it's safe.

Chief Project Manager Mette
Thyregod is part of the team

tasked with keeping the old
bridge operational until

the new one is complete.

[Mette]
So, what you see here is
the stalactites underneath

the concrete, and that says
water coming through

the concrete, the bridge deck,
which means that

the waterproofing is
no longer working.

And this particular concrete is
very sensitive to water

and salt coming through.

It both causes cracks in
the concrete, but also causes

corrosion of the rebars.

At this point, you are past
repairing, so it really needs

a new bridge.

The new Storstrom Bridge needs
a defense against

a twin threat --

freezing water that expands
inside gaps,

and rock salt spread
on the roadway

to keep it ice-free.

These will corrode the steel
rebar and damage the concrete

of the new bridge.

The challenge for the engineers
building the new bridge is how

to make it 100% waterproof.

It falls to Andreas Hensen to
ensure the whole bridge deck is

completely weather-sealed.

This is extremely important
because this is

one of the main factors
of the long-term durability

of a structure like this.

We have to be sure
that no water comes inside.

The bridge's roadway covers
an area of over one million

square feet, the same footprint
as 12 standard-sized

city blocks.

Andreas' team needs a quick
but 100% effective way

to waterproof
an area this large.

Workers spray 220 tons of this
yellow-colored membrane across

every square inch of
the road surface.

Once dry, they then apply
a second layer,

220 tons of this
white-colored membrane.

They complete the waterproofing
with a coat

of this red bonding material.

The process takes seven months
to complete.

A team of road builders
then lays asphalt

over the three
waterproof layers.

It's critical for
the bridge's future health

that every square
inch is sealed.

Even the smallest hole in
the waterproofing will allow

salty water to contact
the concrete and steel below.

He uses a special machine that
passes an electrical current

through the road surface
to detect tiny pinholes

in the waterproofing.

The surface must be completely
dry for the readings

to be accurate.
But it's snowing heavily.

It has to be dry because we're
using an electrical current

to run through
the waterproofing.

So now, first, we have to
remove the snow and the ice.

We're doing that
with compressed air

with a special air lance
that we're using.

The machine makes a sound
if it detects a hole

on the surface.

Good news, the machine
remains silent.

The testing is complete
and we're sure that no water

will come inside the concrete.

So the bridge can remain
in function for the next

120 years, and that's
fantastic for us.

A vehicle or train fire near
the huge central pylon could

pose a danger to the integrity
of the bridge

and the safety
of the people using it.

The steel cables that support
the bridge deck could degrade

rapidly if exposed
to extreme heat.

[Ilona]
If steel gets heated, it loses
its tensile strength,

so the cables will elongate,
they will lose their strength

to hold up the bridge.

Ilona descends the equivalent
of 12 stories to the base of

the central pylon to inspect
the system designed to combat

a dangerous fire on the deck.

Just 30 feet below sea level
is this

two-and-a-half-ton mega-pump.

In the event of a fire,
the pump pushes nearly 1,600

gallons of seawater a minute up
to hydrants on the deck,

to hoses that spray water under
the cables to keep them cool

and prevent them from
losing their strength.

Ilona meets engineer
Troels Fischer

to inspect the pump.

The bridge can't open
to the public without this

critical safety feature
fully operational.

We have this manual operation
panel here.

It will then pressurize
the vault and send it up

to the deck.

We have to test this once every
week to just inspect by

the sensors we have down here,
and then we'll also have

a camera to check whether
there's leakages.

That looks fine now.

This unique firefighting
system is ready for use

in the event of an emergency.

[Ilona]
It's great to see the systems
installed and the testing

being completed.

This is forward thinking in
terms of bridge engineering.

Engineers in Denmark race
to complete

the new Storstrom Bridge.

The grand opening
is only four months away.

The new bridge weighs
over 220,000 tons.

Each pier pushes down onto
the seabed with the equivalent

force of almost three
Eiffel Towers.

It is critical that every pier
settles into the seabed

by the same amount.

If a pier settles too deeply,
the bridge will become unstable

and could cause
a train to derail.

Surveyor Jimmy Petersen and
his team monitor the amount

of settlement.

If he discovers that it's too
great, then engineers will need

to complete repairs that could
delay the opening

of the bridge.

The geologist has made
predictions for how much

the settlement on each pier
area should be.

Predictions are not
always accurate.

If it settles more than
expected, the worst case

scenario would be
that the bridge drops

into the ocean.

The designers of the new
Storstrom Bridge build into it

an innovative
monitoring system.

They mount a nearly
25-inch-square reflector

onto each pier.

Every six days, a GPS satellite

fires a signal
at each reflector.

This plots the precise position
of each pier over time.

This is the first time ever
in the world that we have had

a system like this.

Jimmy clears debris from
each reflector.

It's critical the surface is
clean to ensure the satellite

makes an accurate reading.

Jimmy heads into
the nerve center

for the monitoring system
inside the bridge's girders.

He connects a special laptop
to the network

to check the latest batch
of readings from the satellite.

He analyzes the data.

If any pier is settled more
than expected,

then engineers must push back
the opening of the bridge.

We can see that there has been
a settlement

of about 12 millimeters
throughout the last year,

and that the settlement
has stabilized.

That's exactly what we want
to see.

This special monitoring system
tells engineers

that the new Storstrom Bridge
is sturdy

and ready to carry road
and rail passengers

across the Storstrom Strait.

The new bridge must stand
for at least 120 years.

The designers of the bridge
commission an innovative survey

technique to document
the health of the bridge

before it opens to the public.

It is the job of specialized
engineer Usman Butt to create

this unique bridge's digital
birth certificate.

So we're going out today to
try and get the last pictures

for the 3D model.

Bridge is constructed,
so we're missing the last couple

of images.

Usman flies a special
camera drone.

It takes 180,000 overlapping
photographs

of the exterior of the bridge.

We have a position down
to an accuracy of

five centimeters.

So we really know where we are
in the world, [indistinct] this.

Usman will stitch together
the photos the drone takes

to create a super detailed
3D model of the bridge.

The model will document
every imperfection.

Future engineers can compare
this data

with their later inspections
to gauge as early as possible

if the bridge needs repairs.

[Usman]
At the moment,
I'm taking overlapping images

in a way that we can create
the 3D model.

So we need to have full
coverage of the entire

structure so that we don't miss
any angle for the model itself.

Back at the office, Usman adds
the latest drone data

to the existing model.

He reveals the results
to design manager

Barbara Macaulay.

[Usman] We can see already
that we have, initially,

788 detections of different
kind of cracks.

Is that the number of defects
we should be concerned about?

[Usman] It's quite normal
to see a lot of defects.

That doesn't mean
it's critical defects.

I would say this
looks harmless.

[Barbara] It's amazing.

Having this digital birth
certificate, I think, gives us

the confidence
there's no hidden defects.

We can always have a record of
where we started and let's say

in six years or 20 years time
to see if new defects

has developed.

This clean bill of health

means that the new
Storstrom Bridge is ready

for its grand opening.

Soon it will carry cars
and high-speed trains between

North Germany and Denmark
well into the 22nd century.