Skip to main content

Colombia’s latest bridge project

The new contract for Colombia’s Chirajara Bridge project has now been awarded to a consortium, Eiffage-Puentes y Torones. The consortium will handle the design and construction work for the new bridge. The structure will be a replacement for the earlier bridge, which collapsed as its construction was being finalised in January 2018, just a few months before it had been scheduled to open for traffic in March 2018. The collapse of the earlier structure resulted in 10 fatalities as well as causing serious inju
October 12, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

The new contract for Colombia’s Chirajara Bridge project has now been awarded to a consortium, Eiffage-Puentes y Torones. The consortium will handle the design and construction work for the new bridge. The structure will be a replacement for the earlier bridge, which collapsed as its construction was being finalised in January 2018, just a few months before it had been scheduled to open for traffic in March 2018. The collapse of the earlier structure resulted in 10 fatalities as well as causing serious injuries to other construction personnel and the incident caused considerable controversy in Colombia.

This new design will again be a cable-stayed structure, measuring 446m long and will be up to 150m high over the gorge. Work to build the new bridge is due to commence in the first quarter of 2019 and should take 22 months to complete. The bridge construction site is located in the Cundinamarca Department and forms part of an upgrade for Colombia’s National Route 40, between the capital Bogota and Villavicencio.

Related Content

  • Colombia connectivity to improve with new bridge
    February 2, 2017
    Construction work on Colombia’s landmark Yati-Bodega bridge is already 50% complete. The 2.3km Puente de la Reconciliacion Bridge spans the Magdalena River and when complete, will be the longest in the country. The project is challenging however, due to the river’s flow rate as well as the underlying geology. Once the bridge opens to traffic, it will connect the municipality of Mompox with the rest of Colombia’s Bolivar department. At present Mompox and Magangue are difficult to reach by road due to the lac
  • Piling for a road project in tough conditions
    January 11, 2019
    Machines from Liebherr have been brought in to carry out a piling job in Colombia in tough conditions. The road network between Mosquera and Balsillas is being upgraded at a cost of some US$199.15 million. Mosquera lies on the outskirts of the capital, Bogotá, while Balsillas is to the south-west and close to the borders with Ecuador and Peru. Work started on the project to improve the 230km route in January 2016 and is expected to take until December 2021 to complete. One of the contractors involved in th
  • Italy’s horrific bridge collapse is a sign of a wider problem
    January 7, 2019
    The shocking collapse of a major highway bridge in the Italian city of Genoa has highlighted a major problem with regard to poor infrastructure condition in the country. Causing multiple fatalities, the cable-stayed Morandi Bridge suffered a spectacular failure of a central support. Homes have had to be evacuated and it seems likely that the bridge, opened in 1967, will now have to be demolished. However, warnings had been given. The unusual bridge design, with its thin deck and reinforced concrete stays
  • Tasmanian bridge proposal faces controversy
    October 27, 2020
    The design proposal for a new Tasmanian bridge project faces controversy.