Skip to main content

Brazilian bridge to the beach

The State of Pernambuco in north-eastern Brazil has some of the country's most beautiful beaches, and on the peninsula of Cabo de Santo Agostinho a luxury resort has sprung up with apartments (condominios) and hotels for international tourists. To give the resort a convenient, fast link to the coastal highway, the Via Parque consortium is building a bridge over the Jaboatão River, which separates the peninsula from the mainland.
March 1, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
An impression of how the bridge will look
The State of Pernambuco in north-eastern Brazil has some of the country's most beautiful beaches, and on the peninsula of Cabo de Santo Agostinho a luxury resort has sprung up with apartments (condominios) and hotels for international tourists.

To give the resort a convenient, fast link to the coastal highway, the Via Parque consortium is building a bridge over the Jaboatão River, which separates the peninsula from the mainland.

The 320m long Ponte do Paiva across the river has a clear span of 290m, and is part of a new road system that will cut the journey from the airport to the peninsula from 48km to 14km. It will have two traffic lanes and a pedestrian and cycle lane.

The reinforced concrete box girder is being constructed using the cantilever method, working outward from the two pier heads and back-stayed in every casting section. Via Parque opted for 203 Doka Brasil to supply the formwork, and it planned and supplied a custom formwork solution that was optimally tailored to the specific requirements.

The four cantilevered forming carriages were fitted with a total of 1,000m² of large-area formwork Top 50. The formwork solution called for particular flexibility in the seventh casting section, which at 5m in length is twice as long as a typical section. Using stacking plates and 1.8m long formwork beams, it was possible to lengthen the formwork to the desired dimensions swiftly and safely.

A Doka field service technician coordinated the job of erecting the formwork solution correctly, and was on hand to assist the site team with advice and practical help throughout the start-up phase.

Although the crane had not been erected, forming operations on the foundations of the pier heads had to be started, and Doka Brasil supplied the site with the lightweight, rugged framed formwork Frami. Its low weight means that it can be shifted by hand.

"Even without crane assistance, some very good forming times were achieved with it on the site. Thanks to the logically coordinated panel formats, the crew was able to form the foundations with a minimum of prior planning," said Doka.

The site crew also used Frami on the pier-head itself.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Making the U-turn
    August 2, 2012
    Political hostility to a toll road project in Australia has been turned around by the quality and amenity of the project writes Adrian Greeman Cars, trucks and vans were taking to the new EastLink toll road in Melbourne with enthusiasm this July, pleased to try out its 39km route for time and cost savings. As well as the convenience of the uncongested route, drivers were also able to view an extraordinary multi-shaded perspective of transparent green and orange noise wall panels, burnt earth-coloured retai
  • Bentley Systems gives software awards for excellence in bridge and road construction
    November 1, 2013
    Software specialist Bentley Systems awarded key road and bridge construction projects for excellence in the use of its software. The awards were presented at the firm’s annual event, this year held at the Metropole Hotel in UK capital London.
  • Slim design, efficient removal: New generation of large cold planers from BOMAG
    September 1, 2021
    Bomag launches its new BM/65 series of cold planers in early September 2021. With a CECE operating weight of only 27 tonnes, the BM 2000/65 is the lightest planer currently available in the 2-metre class. Its low weight achieved by the special lightweight design and the shorter conveyor belt now make the planers even more flexible to use. When it comes to efficiency, ease of operation and work safety, the new generation of planers features numerous innovative details
  • Two Thai tunnels are proposed
    April 30, 2013
    Two new road tunnels have been proposed by the Expressway Authority of Thailand (EXAT) that would pass through the Nark Kerb Mountain. The work is expected to cost in the region of US$208 million. The new links have been suggested by EXAT as a means to improve communications between Kathu-Patong beaches in Patong Muang in Phuket. The Phuket area is important to Thailand’s tourist trade which forms a key component in the country’s economy. Building the two tunnels will reduce the travel distance from 14km at