Sunday, March 25, 2007
Too good to pass up.
I know I've done more posts on the new bridge leading into Caracas than I probably should but I have to say watching this thing get built is really interesting. I've never seen this construction technique before.
As people probably already know the bridge consists of a number of concret support towers. A huge steel truss that will ultimately serve as the road bed is being fabricated at one end and then slowly pushed out over the towers as it is built.
Here again is a picture of the "nose" of the bridge which is being pushed foward:
And here is another shot of the large steel lattice resting on the towers:
Note this steel work is not where it will ultimately reside. It is all being pushed as one unit towards the other end of the bridge. Quite a mass of steel to be pushing along!!
And what really made me want to post these pictures is this one:
This is the assembly area where the steel lattice is put together and then pushed out over the concret pillors to form the bridge. Note the wokers in the bottom forground. Better than any picture this shows the scale of this and how huge this bridge is.
It is one thing to see it suspended in the air. But when you see a picture so as this that lends some scale to it it is truly impressive.
The following video also shows the construction and at the end has some good shots which show the scale of the public work project:
The bridge should be completed in about three months. And the first stage, constructing the concrete pillors and putting in place the steel bridge structure is expected to be done in less than two weeks. In fact, here is a picture of the final support column:
Just about done!
By the way, it should be noted this new bridge is not the only thing being done to spruce up the route. Due to the nature of the terrain not only are there bridges, but tunnels as well. For years they have been filthy and dimly lit. No more:
Now they look like brand new.
Also, given the steep grade down from Caracas to the ocean run away trucks with failed brakes are always a concern and have led to some horrible accidents over the years. Finally Venezuela has a government that decided to do something about it. The route now has two new emergency braking ramps for out of control vehicles:
Nice to see the Venezuelan government is not only doing lots of things, but doing them well!
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As people probably already know the bridge consists of a number of concret support towers. A huge steel truss that will ultimately serve as the road bed is being fabricated at one end and then slowly pushed out over the towers as it is built.
Here again is a picture of the "nose" of the bridge which is being pushed foward:
And here is another shot of the large steel lattice resting on the towers:
Note this steel work is not where it will ultimately reside. It is all being pushed as one unit towards the other end of the bridge. Quite a mass of steel to be pushing along!!
And what really made me want to post these pictures is this one:
This is the assembly area where the steel lattice is put together and then pushed out over the concret pillors to form the bridge. Note the wokers in the bottom forground. Better than any picture this shows the scale of this and how huge this bridge is.
It is one thing to see it suspended in the air. But when you see a picture so as this that lends some scale to it it is truly impressive.
The following video also shows the construction and at the end has some good shots which show the scale of the public work project:
The bridge should be completed in about three months. And the first stage, constructing the concrete pillors and putting in place the steel bridge structure is expected to be done in less than two weeks. In fact, here is a picture of the final support column:
Just about done!
By the way, it should be noted this new bridge is not the only thing being done to spruce up the route. Due to the nature of the terrain not only are there bridges, but tunnels as well. For years they have been filthy and dimly lit. No more:
Now they look like brand new.
Also, given the steep grade down from Caracas to the ocean run away trucks with failed brakes are always a concern and have led to some horrible accidents over the years. Finally Venezuela has a government that decided to do something about it. The route now has two new emergency braking ramps for out of control vehicles:
Nice to see the Venezuelan government is not only doing lots of things, but doing them well!
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