Straddling the heart of the bustling Airport Boulevard stands four massive bridges. Two are designed for vehicular traffic while the other two enables planes to taxi from one side of Changi’s huge airfield to the other. Functioning as essential arteries of the airport, these bridges connect both vehicles and planes to different locations across Changi.

Standing tall since the airport first started operations at Changi, years of traffic movement have tested the bearings underneath the bridges. In particular, the bridges for planes need to bear the weight of the world’s largest passenger aircraft, the A380, which can weigh up to 560 tonnes, or approximately 140 elephants. Bridge bearings, used in a similar way as the suspension system in cars, help to spread the load crossing the bridge and absorb the movements to ensure the bridge’s safety and stability.

During an annual structural check, Changi Airport Group (CAG)’s engineers recognised the need for these four bridges to undergo a bearing replacement exercise, to renew their resilience. The engineers proceeded to plan for this replacement exercise, which includes closing off the bridges one by one and redirecting traffic to other routes during the closure.

The location of one of the 24 bearings to be replaced under the vehicle bridge.

With a detailed plan in place, CAG’s engineering team started to bring in specialised machinery that is designed to raise the bridge structures.

Machine used to jack up the bridge, which moves at a speed of 1mm/min

Starting from 13 September 2023, the team began the jacking process slowly across segments of the bridge, to remove the old, worn bearings and replacing them with brand new ones, before lowering each bridge segment. 

The whole herculean replacement exercise for one vehicle bridge will take about four weeks to complete, during which the bridge is closed to traffic for two weeks. During this exercise, CAG’s engineering team will also take the opportunity to take care of minor repair works if necessary, as well as coat the bridges with a fresh layer of paint. 

Cindy Koh, Vice President, Engineering Management & Systems Planning at CAG shared, “The main challenge faced by the project team was to ensure the safe and speedy completion of the bearing replacements with minimal disruptions to traffic flow. At Changi, it is important that our infrastructure projects are planned and executed to reduce the impact to airport operations, and to travellers who are on the move to catch their flight.” 

“Once the whole replacement exercise is completed, the revitalised bridges will have renewed strength and resilience, ready to continue to bear the weight of aviation going forward for decades into the future”, added Cindy.