05/08/2019
VINCI Construction delivers the Atlantic Bridge in Panama
- An extraordinary engineering structure that posed many technical challenges
- Strong synergies between VINCI Construction companies
On Friday, 2 August 2019, Panamanian President, Laurentino Cortizo, and Panama Canal Administrator, Jorge Quijano, unveiled the Atlantic Bridge in Colón. This exceptional 4.6 km structure, including 3.1 km of exceptional engineering structures, located 3 km from the Gatun and Agua Clara locks, creates a new link between the North American and South American continents that can be used whether the canal locks are in operation or not.
Due to the adversity of the Panamanian tropical climate on the Atlantic side, a technical solution entirely made of reinforced concrete was chosen by the Panama Canal Authority rather than a metal structure. The central span (the bridge section that spans the canal), consisting of 530 metres of concrete deck located 75 metres above sea level, constitutes a world record for a cable-stayed bridge, while its two towers dominate the waters of the Atlantic Ocean at over 210 metres high.
In order for work to be carried out without interrupting the transit of container ships, four innovative form travellers, each weighing 240 tonnes, were used to build the central span.
Thanks to a strong and shared safety culture, the work was carried out without any serious accidents.
The construction of this bridge relied heavily on the wide-ranging expertise of the Group’s subsidiaries: VINCI Construction Grands Projets for the construction of the bridge, Soletanche Bachy subsidiary Rodio Swissboring Panamá for the deep foundations and Freyssinet for the installation of the stays.
