Collapse of the Chirajara Bridge

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Coordinates: 4 ° 12 ′ 7 "  N , 73 ° 47 ′ 48"  W.

Viaducto Chirajara
BW
use Road bridge
place Guaya Valley
construction Cable-stayed bridge
overall length 446 m
Longest span 286 m
height 280 m above ground
building-costs approx. 75 billion COP
location
Collapse of the Chirajara Bridge (Cundinamarca)
Collapse of the Chirajara Bridge

The Chirajara Bridge in Colombia is a cable-stayed bridge under construction in the course of the new construction and expansion of the Autopista al Llano expressway in the eastern Cordillera , which is a section of the national road 40 between Bogotá and Villavicencio (see list of highways in Colombia ). On January 15, 2018, one of its pylons collapsed. On July 11, 2018, the second pylon, which was also in danger of collapsing, was blown up. In October 2018, two subsidiaries of the French construction group Eiffage were selected to erect the replacement structures.

Description of the bridge

With a total length of 446 m and a height of 280 m above ground, the planned bridge is the largest of the 46 bridges in the course of the route. Its two 110 m high reinforced concrete pylons in diamond or diamond shape had a span of 286 m and side openings of 80 m.

When viewed from above, the pylons stood on foundations with a diameter of 8 m, which were round and supported by solid rock.

The bridge is located at km 64 in the municipality of Guayabetal in the Departamento de Cundinamarca and is intended to connect the two tunnels Chirajara and La Pala .

The route is being built by the private concessionaire Coviandes (Concessionario Vial de los Andes), a subsidiary of the Colombian financial group Grupo Aval y Corficolombiana , on the basis of an order dated January 22, 2010. The construction company for the bridge is Gisaico SAS, a company from Medellín .

The road project was awarded the National Engineering Prize in 2010, also because of the bridge.

collapse

The two pylons and the parts of the bridge panel hanging from them had already been completed. The gap between the road sections was planned for March 2018.

On January 15, 2018, the 110 m high western of the two pylons ( Pylon B ) collapsed together with the stay cables and the approx. 200 m long section of the bridge panel hanging from them. It was initially reported that at least ten workers died, eight were injured and two were missing. It is now estimated that nine dead and eight injured.

The Minister of Transport immediately pointed out that Coviandes was fully responsible for all work. A preliminary investigation has been initiated. The President of the Cámara Colombiana de la Infraestructura emphasized that it was important that the investigations bring quick results.

The investigators announced after a few days that an earthquake could be ruled out as the cause of the collapse. Coviandes announced that the renowned engineering company Modjeski and Masters from the USA had been commissioned to determine the cause of the accident.

On April 24, 2018, the Agencia Nacional de Infraestrutura - ANI published the final report jointly written by Modjeski and Masters and American Geotechnical & Environmental Services . Thereafter, the Chirajara Bridge collapsed due to a construction error. The reinforced concrete wall and the crossbeam arranged below the road girder between the two arms of the pylon could not have withstood the forces acting outwards. The cross member contains unusually little steel. In the planning it was assumed that these forces were distributed over the height of the reinforced concrete wall and that the wall therefore contributed to its neutralization. However, since the outwardly acting forces acted in particular on the crossbeam and the uppermost part of the reinforced concrete wall, cracks occurred there, followed by the connection being torn off and thus collapsing.

The still standing, identical Pylon C is in acute danger of collapse for the same reasons, it already shows the typical cracks. It must be torn down.

In a work by the engineer Jaime Suarez Diaz, a picture of a vertical crack in pylon C can be seen at the level of the crossbeam. In it he also refers to two other weak points in the pylon, which are susceptible to bending as a result of the load on the cantilevered end of the deck girder.

The pylon C is then blown up together with the standing beside him and supported him crane in July 2018th

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ globalconstructionreview.com
  2. ↑ tagesschau.de: Colombia: Ten dead in bridge collapse. Retrieved January 17, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Cuatro nuevos túneles entrarán en operación en la doble calzada de la vía al Llano Article from May 2, 2017 with information on the bridge at the end on Portafolio.co
  4. ^ A b Thomas P. Murphy, Sebastian Lobo-Guerrero, Nohemy Galindez: Investigación del Colapso del Punte Chirajara . Report of April 24, 2018 of the Agencia Nacional de Infraestrutura - ANI (Ed.)
  5. ↑ a b erosion.com.co
  6. ↑ Aumenta cifra de muertos tras desplome de puente en vía Bogotá - Villavicencio. In: El Espectador . January 15, 2018, accessed January 17, 2018 .
  7. ↑ website of Coviandes
  8. ↑ a b "Es importante para la ingeniería Colombiana que la investigación dé resultados pronto": Caicedo Ferrer article from January 16, 2018 on Caracol Radio
  9. ↑ Tablón y la Quebrada Chirajara ganó premio de ingeniería Article of May 29, 2010 on ElTiempo.com
  10. ↑ Bridge collapses, several dead. In: Spiegel Online . January 16, 2018, accessed January 17, 2018 .
  11. ↑ Study: Fatal Chirajara Bridge Collapse in Colombia Caused by Design Flaw. Article dated April 28, 2018 on Finance Colombia.com
  12. ↑ “El concesionario debe responder por la totalidad de las obras del puente de Chirajara”: Mintransporte article from January 16, 2018 on Notingenio.com
  13. ↑ Fiscalía investiga caída del puente Chirajara article from January 17, 2018 on LaPatria.com
  14. ↑ Fiscalía descarta sismo en caída del puente Chirajara. Article from January 18 on Vanguardia.com
  15. ↑ 200 KG of explosives to destroy bridge in Colombia. Video on YouTube from July 11, 2018; Source: Thomson Reuters 2018.