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

  • Peru’s Oyón -Ambo Highway presents challenges
    August 30, 2022
    Peru’s Oyón-Ambo highway project represents a landmark in construction for the country, while facing significant technical challenges – Paula Chapple, editor of Carreteras Pan-Americana (CPA), writes
  • Shortlist set for Norway’s Sotra PPP project
    May 21, 2020
    Sotra Link, Itias and Vis Sotra are vying for the $1.15 billion deal.
  • Two German autobahns benefit from new Wirtgen concrete slipforming technology
    November 15, 2013
    Two important routes in Germany, the A9 and A6 autobahn highways, have benefited from the use of the latest Wirtgen slipforming machines. The A9 is a particularly important route in Germany as this 529km link connects capital Berlin with the southern city of Munich, running through Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Thuringia and Bavaria.
  • SSL hits back over criticism of its work on the Champlain Bridge
    December 11, 2017
    The contactor building the replacement Champlain Bridge in Canada has hit back over of allegations of poor workmanship in the US$3.3 billion project. The new 3.4km cable-stayed Champlain Bridge over the St Lawrence River will have six lanes vehicle lanes and a separate cycle and pedestrian lane. Design life is 125 years and is being constructed under a public-private partnership and operating contract of 30 years after completion of construction. Work includes construction of a smaller bridge for Île des