Cementing relations in Guatemala
Facts and Figures:
Place/Country: 20 km west of Guatemala City/Guatemala
Completion: 2019
Project type: Panel (Bailey-type) Bridge
Client: Cementos Progresos S.A.
Description:
Building a long two-lane, multi-span junction modular bridge across a steep valley in Guatemala required close collaboration with a local construction firm.
The modular superstructure rests on two 25m high piers.
Pre-assembly of the 88m-long modular steel bridge began towards the end of December 2019 at a site 20km west of Guatemala City, the country's capital. The client, a private cement company, needed the crossing to be built in a matter of weeks to shorten the route between the nearest main road and its factory. Furthermore, the bridge was required to span a deep valley and be able to handle live loads from heavy-goods vehicles weighing up to 50t.
The contract was secured in mid-2019 following a successful bid by Waagner-Biro, which designed an 89.6m-long Bailey bridge with three spans: a main span of 39.6m and two side spans of 24.4m. For the structure's two 25m-high steel piers, Waagner-Biro came up with a basic design and subcontracted a local construction firm to fabricate them. In this way, local added value could be generated for Guatemala.
This design was created in Autodesk Advance Steel detailing software and sent to the subcontractor approximately four months ahead of site works. The towers were preassembled in modules and built from the ground up in their final positions.
The superstructure has a standard truss design for a bridge of this type and sits on steel bearings anchored to each of the abutments. The latter are relatively tall, at roughly 10m high, to deal with the steep gradients either side of the valley. Pouring and casting of the abutments took place some weeks in advance to allow the concrete to harden and for the completion of preliminary site works before the arrival of the bridge to the site.
The elements for the three spans were then brought to the site and assembled next to the bridge's final position. Each span was launched from the same side of the valley in an operation that lasted two days and used a launching nose, rollers, hydraulic jacks and ropes.
The most challenging aspect of the project involved building the special interfaces between the piers and the superstructure, since this was the juncture on the project timeline – and the physical structure itself – where cooperation with the local construction firm was most important.
To facilitate this, a supervisor from Waagner-Biro was; on site for the two weeks it took to build the bridge.
The crossing has two lanes for traffic as well as a pedestrian walkway and was opened on 10 January, within the time frame set out by the client.
