Panel bridges for Southern Chile

Facts and Figures:

Place/Country: Carretera Austral, Patagonia, Chile
Completion: 2011 - 2019
Project type: Panel Bridges, Bailey-type Bridges
Client: various (Vialidad de Aysén, Ejército de Chile, Comando de apoyo a la Fuerza)

Description:

Following its participation in a number of competitive tenders, Waagner-Biro was awarded a number of contracts for the supply of modular steel bridges (Bailey-type bridges) to Chile, with individual spans ranging from 27 to 92 metres. The first large contract was completed in 2012, succeeded by additional contracts in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019. The majority of the bridges were installed at various sites on trunk roads east and west of the Carretera Austral, a highway that runs some 1,240 kilometres through rural Patagonia. A total of about 1.4 km of panel bridges have as yet been delivered to Chile, most of them located in the southern regions of Aysén, Lagos, Magallanes and Valparaíso.

Decisive in obtaining the orders were not only the price, but also rapid delivery and Waagner-Biro‘s technical competence. The first bridge in Chile was built across the Tranquilo River, replacing an old suspension bridge with a load limit of 5 tons. Installation on the 45.72m long and 4.20m wide steel bridge started as early as November 2013 and finished within a week. Trucks up to 40 tons can now cross the river.