Die dritte Brücke über den Orinoco/Venezuela - Eine zweistöckige Schrägkabelbrücke für Straße und Eisenbahn mit Verbundfachwerk

The third bridge across the Orinoco River/Venezuela - A doubledeck bridge cable-stayed bridge for highway and railroad with composite truss girder

With the aim of developing the Southwest of Venezuela and to enable its connections with the rest of the country, a third bridge over the Orinoco River was designed between the cities of Cabruta, State of Guárico, in the north and Caicara del Orinoco, State of Bolivar, in the south. The combined highway and railroad bridge will have a total length of 11125 km. The stay-cable main bridge with 360 m main span and the adjacent approach bridges with a length of 2 · 720 m are comprised of a steel composite truss girder with a depth of 12,0 m. The diamond shaped pylons are founded on piles with a diameter of 2,5 m and a length of up to 80 m. The bridge is transported to the site on barges in lengths of 60 m and assembled in construction yards adjacent to the southern and northern abutments to elements of 360 m, before launching each into its final position using Teflon plates on top of the piers; this requires temporary strengthening. The center segment of the main bridge with a length of 120 m and a dead weight of 2400 t will be lifted from a barge.