Paraguay awards construction of third border bridge with Brazil

By MOPC

This is a machine translation of the original press release issued in Spanish.

A few days after the 89th anniversary of Boquerón's victory, the Paraguayan Chaco is once again making history with the award of a work that will mark the beginning of a new era for the country and this entire part of the continent.

By Resolution No. 2,001/21, the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) awarded the construction of the Bioceanic Bridge to the Binational Consortium PY-BRA, made up of the companies Tecnoedil Constructora SA, Cidade LTDA and Paulitec Construções

The winning bid is G. 616,836,755,744, which represents 8% less than the estimated amount of the call.

This work is considered the main link of the entire Bioceanic Road Corridor, whose first stretch of 277km is already well advanced to join the towns of Carmelo Peralta (Alto Paraguay) and Loma Plata (Boquerón).

Also known as the Bioceanic Route, once completed in its entirety, it will cross the entire Paraguayan Chaco from east to west, joining the border cities of Brazil (Carmelo Peralta-Puerto Murtinho) and Argentina (Pozo Hondo-La Paz Mission), shortening the trip towards the most important seaports in both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

Thanks to the Bioceanic Bridge and the new road corridor, the Western Region of the country will become a great International Logistics Center, generating 2,500 jobs and endless opportunities for all Chaco residents.

WORK DESCRIPTION

According to the Bidding Terms and Conditions (PBC), this new international bridge will have a total length of 1,300m with the following characteristics:

Plan layout: Straight layout crossing orthogonally the Paraguay River through its narrowest section. For the average level of the riverbed, this is 300m wide. To facilitate construction, the axes of the bracing piers have been separated 350m between their axes, so that the execution of the foundations does not require fluvial resources.

Elevation layout: The elevation layout of the bridge is marked by the need to provide a navigation gauge of 29 m high above the level of the Paraguay River (Z=+81.95m) for a return period of 100 years. This navigation gauge is provided in a width of 195m, centered on the riverbed, and coinciding with the navigation channel. With this width, the simultaneous transit under the bridge of two convoys with pusher, of 65m of beam per convoy, is allowed. The elevation line is defined by two ramps of 4% and a circular vertical agreement with a radius of 3,300m. With these parameters, a project speed of 80km/h is allowed and the transit of heavy vehicles, which will be the predominant ones, is facilitated.

Cross Section: The cross section of the bridge and its access viaducts provides a platform with a 3.6m wide lane in each direction of movement, 3.0m wide side shoulders, reserves for a 60cm wide vehicle collision barrier, 1.70m useful width sidewalks in the cable-stayed section and 2.5 m in the access viaducts, to finally house the supports of the anti-intrusion / anti-suicide barriers in 35cm. All in all, the total width of the section reaches 20.1m. Transversely, a 2% slope is provided from the axis of the bridge to the sides to facilitate drainage of the road.

ACCESS VIADUCTS

The bridge is divided into three sections, consisting of two access viaducts, one on the Paraguayan bank of the river and the other on the Brazilian, and in the middle of both, the cable-stayed section, which will be erected solemnly in the territory, but always from a deep respect for it, without fanfare, within the framework of El Chaco, an austere and beautiful territory at the same time, where nothing is lacking, but there is also no excess.

The access viaduct on the Paraguayan side has a length of 304m, made up of 10 spans with a span of 30m; while on the Brazilian side 12 spans are necessary, which means a length of 365m. With these viaduct lengths, embankment heights in the bridge abutments of 13.5m are obtained, which is the maximum height of the embankment to guarantee its stability and, also, respect the occupation band of the 100 m wide ground plan, including the service roads at the foot of the embankment.

Between the viaducts, as already mentioned, there is the cable-stayed section, 630m long, with a main span of 350m and two holding spans of 140m each.

Thus, the structure will reach a total length of 1,300m, crossing the Paraguay riverbed and tying it with the embankments of the accesses.

It should be noted that the commissioning of this gateway will directly benefit 19,000 compatriots and will contribute to the socioeconomic growth of the entire Paraguayan Chaco because it will become the articulator of all international merchandise transit between both oceans.

BACKGROUND

The call for bids for this emblematic work was approved in mid-February by the Paraguay-Brazil Mixed Commission.

The entire process is the result of an international agreement signed between the governments of Paraguay and Brazil on June 8, 2016, so today another significant step in the realization of this project is consolidated.

Let us remember that through a Joint Declaration of December 21, 2018, the presidents of Paraguay, Mario Abdo Benítez, and of Brazil at that time, Michel Temer, agreed to the construction of two international bridges to be fully financed by Itaipú Binacional. This declaration was ratified by the administration of current Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

One of them is the Integration Bridge, between Presidente Franco and Foz de Yguazú, over the Paraná River; and the other, the one that will connect Carmelo Peralta with Puerto Murtinho, on the Paraguay River.

This new physical connection is part of the transcendental continental project for the construction of the Bioceanic Rodoviario Corridor, and its executing entity, in Paraguay, is the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC).

Through the union between the ports of the Pacific and the Atlantic, through the Paraguayan Chaco, the Governments of Paraguay and Brazil, via ITAIPU, aim at a greater productive and economic integration of the region.

The award resolution can be seen here.