Design-Bid-Build-Value Engineering
Main Span: 530 m (1,738 ft)
Total Length: 3,081 m (10,108 ft)
Width: 20.8 m (68 ft) (approaches)
The Atlantic Bridge, the third crossing of the Panama Canal close to the city of Colón, on the Atlantic side, has a total length of 3,081 m (10,108 ft). The main cable-stayed bridge features a main span of 530 m (1,738 ft) and provides a minimum vertical clearance of 75 m (246 ft) above the Canal. The approach spans measure 45 m (147 ft), 82 m (269 ft), and 125 m (410 ft). The 23.6 m (77 ft) wide deck carries four traffic lanes with emergency shoulders. The bridge must withstand high seismic forces, with a peak rock acceleration of around 0.8 g.
The foundations consist of drilled shafts with 1.8 m (5.9 ft) and 2.5 m (8.2 ft) diameters.
The concrete superstructure for the cable-stayed spans consists of lateral concrete boxes connected with transverse diaphragms. The deck is supported by two planes of stay cables anchored along the edges. It is built in a balanced cantilever with traveling forms. The delta-shaped pylons are 135 m (442 ft) high above the roadway. The pylon legs are connected by a cross beam just under the bridge deck.
The superstructure for the approach spans consists of a single cell box girder with constant depth for the 45 m (147 ft) spans and variable depth for the 82 m (269 ft) and 125 m (410 ft) spans. The 45 m (147 ft) spans are incrementally launched while the 82 m (269 ft) and 125 m (410 ft) spans are built in balanced cantilever using traveling forms.
SYSTRA IBT was responsible for the following tasks:
- Value Engineering Design, detailed design, construction drawings, and construction analysis for the main cable-stayed bridge.
- Independent design check for the adjacent spans: incrementally launched 45 m
(147 ft) and balanced cantilever (CIP) 82 m (269 ft) spans.
