5th International Cable-Supported Bridge Operaturs’ Conference, August 28-29, 2006-11-02

© Bridge Engineering Association

Second Bridge over the Orinoco – design, construction and operation -

K. J. Humpf, P.E.
Leonhardt, Andrä und Partner GmbH, Stuttgart, Germany

ABSTRACT: A new bridge built over the Orinoco river illustrates unique design features, e. g.
combined rail-roadway traffic, two back to back cable-stayed bridges, independent ship impact
protection, a delta pier as fixed point and an inspection and a special maintenance program
compared to Venezuela’s typical operation of infrastructure.

1 GENERAL

With 2560 km length the Orinoco River is the third biggest river in South America after the
Amazon and the Paraná. The average discharge of 30.000 m³/sec ranks him 5th in the world.
Whereas other rivers, e. g. the Rhine has over 100 bridges, the Orinoco had only one fixed
crossing at Ciudad Bolivar. The new bridge 200 km downstream is part of a 170 km long
combined road and railway connection between Ciudad Guayana and a deepsea port at the north
coast of Venezuela. It will tap the resources of oil-slate between the Orinoco and the Caribbean.
It connects the provinces Anzoatzgui in the south and Monagas north of the river. The intention
is to continue the road south into Brazil. The whole contract includes 4 km of bridges and 165
km of roadway with three interchanges as connections to the existing net of highways.
The railway line will not be activated during the first years as the railway net has to be
extended first to reach this crossing. Later, this connection allows to reduce dredging of the
lower Orinoco, downwards from Ciudad-Guayana as goods can be transferred to the deepsea
ports.

Figure 1. Plan

1
 5th International Cable-Supported Bridge Operaturs’ Conference, August 28-29, 2006-11-02
© Bridge Engineering Association

2 RIVER CROSSING
2.1 Concept
Initial feasibility studies for a crossing in the area of Ciudad Guayana date back to 1996 with
detailed examinations of various alternative locations. 30 years later contractors could qualify
for a DBOT project to provide an offer, based on these preliminary studies. This tendering was
suspended and an export credit between Brazil and Venezuela allowed in 2000 to start the
project again with a contract awarded to the Brazilian firm Norberto Odebrecht S.A., Sao Paulo,
Brazil. A new location about 20 km upstream from Ciudad Guayana has been selected.
The 3156 m long bridge is straight in plan and reaches the highest point in elevation with
slopes of 0.25 % at the south and 1 % at the north side. The bridge is supposed to carry 4 lanes
as well as 1 railway track in the center between the two carriageways. At this location, with an
island in the center of the river two clearances of 260 x 41 m had to be provided for navigation
channels north and south of the island. The river traffic consists mainly of barges for the
transport of bauxite. The substructure of the bridge is not designed for potential impact of those
barges as is anticipated to protect the foundations later by separate protection structures.
The south-north running bridge could be founded in the south on rock. On the north side the
rock is overlain by sand layers up to 90 m which are partially prone to scour. The water level of
the bridge varies regularly between 0 and +12,5 m with high water in August and low levels in
March.

Figure 2. Layout

2.2 Structure
The length of the bridge is divided in
• the south approach with 4 sections of 300 and 360 m, a total of 1320 m
• the main bridge, a back to back cable-stayed bridge with 1200 m and
• the north approach composed of 2 sections of 300 and 336 m.
Approaches as well as the main bridge have similar cross-sections, composed of a single cell
steel box under the railway line with cantilevering cross girders supported by diagonals at 3 m
distance and an edge girder to support the roadway. The deck consists of a concrete slab in full
composite action with the steel box and steel grid of cross girders and the edge girders. For the
suspended deck the edge girders are strengthened to carry the cable forces and distribute the
vertical component to 2 cross girders. Most likely this configuration is one of the biggest
composite bridge for combined rail and roadway traffic.

Figure 3. Cross-section

2
 5th International Cable-Supported Bridge Operaturs’ Conference, August 28-29, 2006-11-02
© Bridge Engineering Association

The south approach consists of 4 sections with five to six spans, in total 22 spans of 60 m. At
the north side 11 spans of regularly 60 m and one of 36 m are divided in two portions of 300
and 336 m.
As mentioned before the main bridge consists of 2 cable-stayed bridges with spans of 3 x 60
– 300 – 4 x 60 – 300 – 3 x 60 m. Except for both end spans a length of 1080 m is suspended by
cables at 12 m distance. The 2 x 8 x 11 = 176 cables are arranged in a semi-fan shape. Breaking
and earthquake loads are directed to a delta shaped pier in the center where both cable-stayed
bridges are touching each other. The transfer of forces at this fixed point takes advantage of the
highest rock elevation at the island and the possibility to transfer as well the uplift forces from
the main spans via a monolithical connection between super and substructure. The steel box is
connected via 24 tendons of 37 strands and the shear transferred by 44 m long 150 mm deep
shear keys.
For the approach structures a different concept was chosen to deal with seismic and breaking
loads. All bearings are elastomeric bearings with guiding elements for service conditions.
Between approach sections lock-up devices are installed to distribute longitudinal loads over
many piers.
Under seismic loadings the guiding structures will break and allow the superstructure to
move partially isolated with a long period and thus avoiding high seismic loadings. The joints
between main bridge and approaches and at the abutments allow for the movements of the 3
independent sections of the bridge.
Except for the south side with raft foundations most piers are founded on piles with pile caps.
Those have typically a diameter of 2 m and lengths between 13 and 60 m. The bearing capacity
is developed in rock by tip loading. At the north side where scour and a deep sand layers require
a different pile concept based on skin friction the diameter had been increased to 2,5 m for piles
up to 83 m length. All piles are placed with permanent casing and the heavy reinforcement
reaches up to 3 %. The pile caps of the towers reach the size of 31 x 52,5 x 6 m, those of the Δ-
pier 30 x 47 x 4,5 m. At high water level the pile caps of the towers are visible, all other pile
caps remain submerged. At low water levels the pile caps and up to 7,5 m free pile length can be
seen. The variable water level will be a challenge for the future protection structures. Piles as
well as the pile caps must be protected against impact under all site conditions.
All regular piers with heights between 15 and 42 m have a constant section of 3 x 7 m with a
wall thicknesses of 0,6 and 0,7 m.
The towers have the typical H-shape with slightly inclined legs and 2 cross-girders. With a
total height of 120 m the legs are variable in one direction between 4 and 7,5 m and constant in
the other direction. Cross beams are of hollow section as well with post tensioning in the webs.
The top of the towers with the cable anchorage zone was designed as a composite section with a
heavy steel case at the inside of the concrete box. This steel section carries all the bearing
structures for the cable anchorages.
The Freyssinet cable system made up of individually protected strands within a PE-pipe have
sizes between 42 and 72 strands. In the tower was placed the live end and at the deck the dead
end. The isotensioning method allows to install the cables without the help of a crane and strand
by strand. The longer cables are equipped with internal hydraulic dampers made up by a bladder
filled with oil at the lower anchorage. In addition the two longest cables of each harp receive
special external dampers similar to shock absorbers of a car.

2.3 Design Basics

The basic codes applied are AREMA and AASHTO (LRFD). Those were complimented by the
recommendations for stay cable design of PTI, COVENIN 2003-89 for the local wind loads and
a local code for seismic actions which is structured similar to AASHTO.
Train loads were given as TREN COOPER E72 and the truck as HS20-44. Less than
10 trains will pass the bridge per day, however these are except for the unloaded ones equal to
the design load intensity. Exceptional load cases considered are 1 severed cable under full
service loading and seismic acceleration up to 0,20 g.
All sections were sized according to permissible stresses and for the stability checks of the
plates of the box section verifications according to German codes as DIN 4114 / DastRi012 and
DIN 18800 were provided.

3
 5th International Cable-Supported Bridge Operaturs’ Conference, August 28-29, 2006-11-02
© Bridge Engineering Association

In the fatigue analysis a service life of 80 years is considered. Not considered was that at least
for 10 years the bridge will be in service without train service. The combination of rail and
roadway traffic on one structure is not unusual in South America, however, the US codes
AREMA and AASHTO do not reflect such a combination. Some of the European codes define
these issues, however, not to much detail as it is an uncommon bridge type in Europe as well.
As the shape of the superstructure is carried on from the approaches the aerodynamic
behavior is not optimal. Due to the relatively short span of 300 m and the huge stiffness of the
section aerodynamic stability is fulfilled. However, vortex shedding could be a problem under
certain circumstances and as a consequence the two longest cables could be excited by
parametric excitation. Therefore, special damping devices were installed at those cables.
Generally weathering steel is used to avoid any additional corrosion protection. The concrete
deck is supplied with 4 cm of asphalt without any sealing between concrete and asphalt.
Ship traffic in the river is low and consists of typical barge tow configurations of 3 x 5
barges. A future separation of the navigational channels in north and south side will increase the
safety of the passage. The bridge will be protected in the future by independent protection
structures.

3 PROCUREMENT AND CONSTRUCTION

Almost 6 of 12 months of a year, piling and pile cap construction had to be interrupted due to
high water levels in the river. More than 50 % of the pile caps are located in the river and 70 %
of the piles had to be executed in the water.
The mobilization of huge pontoons, which are generally used in coastal areas characterized
this site. The execution of 370 piles with a total length of 13.100 m took 1 ½ years. By the help
of GPS systems the piles could be placed with tolerances in the range of centimeters.
The bottom scaffolding of the pile caps consisted of lost precast panels and the pour of the
cap was done in two or three stages. Temperature management was important due to generally
high outside temperatures and the mass of concrete.
All piers and towers were built with gliding formwork. For the piers with constant section
and without special embedded elements or connections this approach was very efficient. For the
tower construction the gliding had to be interrupted two times to place the cross girders and to
install the system again. Due to concentrations of rebar and the variable section the expected
efficiency and quality could not be achieved. A non-technical but important aspect for the
preference of the gliding system was the uninterrupted working process with the requirement for
24 h work. Otherwise the strong unions in Venezuela would not have accepted to work in
3 shifts without such a technical condition.
All steel came from Brazil. Preassembled portions of the segments were shipped from Belo
Horizonte to Ciudad Guayana. In several shops in Ciudad Guayana the 12 m long segments
were assembled and transported to the site at 16 km distance. In total 263 of these segments,
12 x 23 m in plan, had to be transported by flat beds over a partially closed highway.
Behind both abutments an assembling yard was prepared to assemble in 3 lines approach
sections of 300 and 360 m length, as well as a portion of 210 m for the main bridge. Each bridge
section was provided with steel noses at the front and at the end and was slid by means of teflon
plates into its final position. The other partner of the sliding system was just the greased bottom
flange of the steel box.
The center of the main bridge (120 m to both sides at the delta pier) was erected by the help
of auxiliary trusses and partially by sliding to its final position.

4
 5th International Cable-Supported Bridge Operaturs’ Conference, August 28-29, 2006-11-02
© Bridge Engineering Association

Figure 4. Erection of backspans

Both main spans were erected by the free cantilevering method with 4 derricks in use.
To speed up erection always two segments of 12 m were connected to a 24 m lift avoiding
50 % welding during the cantilevering phase. Pouring of the deck, however, is done in 12 m
segments as the corresponding cables have to be installed after 12 m.
Construction will terminate in August with span closures in June 2006.

Figure 5. Free cantilevering erection

5
 5th International Cable-Supported Bridge Operaturs’ Conference, August 28-29, 2006-11-02
© Bridge Engineering Association

4 OPERATION
4.1 General
Traditionally in this country maintenance is not an important issue. Quite often nothing is done
until major defects appear and then the repair work will still take a long time to come.
Sometimes the structures are completely run down until the safety of the users are at risk. A
very prominent case was recently the failure of a major arch bridge on the highway between
Caracas city and the airport. Over many years it was known that the abutments were moving.
Once the repair had started it was too late and the breakdown of the structure interrupted for
months one of the most important highways in the country.
In this contract, a design build contract, the construction company has to guarantee for the
structure over a long period of time. So at least for this period it is not only the owners interest
to maintain the structure well but also the interest of the contractor to see the client treating his
investment according to the rules of operation. May be it is not more than hope that politics
have changed regarding inspection and maintenance and it could be that this project becomes
the test for such a novelty approach in Venezuela.
Most likely the supervision of the traffic and a camera controlled area will be provided for the
general safety of the users and for the whole investment.

4.2 Basic Inspection and Maintenance Concept

An Inspection and Maintenance Manual with detailed instructions is provided by the contractor
/ designer and handed over to the client. This will be adjusted and further developed to the
specific needs of the structure and the behavior over time. The Manual is influenced by DIN
1076 “Infrastructure for roads and highways, surveillance and inspection”, the standards of
inspection RI-EBW-PRÜF “Guidelines for standardized registration, processing and analysis of
the results of inspection in accordance with DIN 1076, 1998”, special inspection and
maintenance instructions from suppliers of cables, bearing, joints etc. and the designer’s long-
standing experience with cable-stayed and railway bridges.

Main topics of the manual are

• Documentation of the structure (as built and handing over situation)
• Inspection intervals, detail of inspection
• Inspection planning and evaluation of results regarding
- structural safety
- users safety
- durability
rating and expected future degradation
• Activities following inspection results
• Maintenance, routine and occasional
• Rehabilitation
• Extraordinary situations

The idea is to provide for the client guidebook to establish reasonable procedures to control
the structures in every aspect, to register the situation over the lifetime and to be able to initiate
the necessary maintenance activities. An optimum resource allocation and a high level of
reliability over many years should be the final result.

4.3 Possible complimentary systems under consideration

An extensive permanent monitoring program is under consideration. The driving issue is to
control the area, the traffic and the whole new red of roads by cameras and via an operation
center. Attached to this system of pure operational and safety control in regard to the users a
permanent structure control could be provided and registered and supervised in the operation
center. The architecture of such an integrated system is the following

6
 5th International Cable-Supported Bridge Operaturs’ Conference, August 28-29, 2006-11-02
© Bridge Engineering Association

Figure 6. Interfaces of the integrated supervision and control of the structure

Figure 7. Subsystems of the integrated supervision and control system of the structure

7
 5th International Cable-Supported Bridge Operaturs’ Conference, August 28-29, 2006-11-02
© Bridge Engineering Association

CCO Centro de Control Operacional

(operation control center)
SRT Subsistema de Recaudación de Tasas
(toll facilities)
SMA Subsistema de Monitoreo medio Ambiental
(recollection of ambient datas, temperature, wind, …)
SME Subsistema de Monitoreo de la Estructura
(recollection and processing of datas from sensors in the structure)
SMV Subsistema de Monitoreo Visual
(control by cameras)
SSCTC Subsistema de Supervisión y Control del Tráfico ferro Carrilero
(control of railway traffic)
SSCTF Subsistema de Supervisión y Control del Tráfico Fluvial
(control of river traffic)
SSCU Subsistema de Supervisión y Control de Utilidades
(control of utilities)
SSFP Subsistema de Seguridad Física y Patrimonial
(general control of all structures and installations)
STDFV Subsistema de Transmisión de Datos, Fonía y Vídeo
(transmission system to CCO)

If the permanent operation control will be implemented the permanent structural control
would not be a major issue. The personnel of the operation center would supervise as well the
features of the structural control (SME). An evaluation of the datas accumulated by the SME
system, however, will need to be done by others. Today it is no difficulty to provide via internet
those data to the engineer’s office where these can be processed. The personal on site in the
operation center will deal with maintaining the system of control and supervising the traffic.
At this stage, however, it is impossible to tell which way the owner decides to go.

5 CONCLUSION

An important link has been built over the Orinoco which will improve the possibilities for
development of the whole region. This construction project created many jobs in the area and
fostered export of steel from Brazil.
To guarantee the preservation of this important infrastructure over 80 years of service, with
the highest reliability, owner and builder have to implement a system of maintenance. The first
steps had been done. Hopefully this will become a positive example, to show how to manage
other infrastructures in the country as well.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Owner: Corporación Venezolana de Guayana

Main contractor: Constructora Norberto Odebrecht
Steel structure: Usiminas Mecánicas
Joints, bearings, cables, post-tensioning: Freyssinet
Consultant for detailed design: Consorcio Brave (Lustgarten & Asociados for the
main bridge; Figueiredo Ferraz for the approach
structures)
Consultant and official checking Leonhardt, Andrä und Partner GmbH, Beratende
engineer for Consorcio Brave: Ingenieure VBI
Erection engineering for CNO: Leonhardt, Andrä und Partner GmbH, Beratende
Ingenieure VBI

8
 5th International Cable-Supported Bridge Operaturs’ Conference, August 28-29, 2006-11-02
© Bridge Engineering Association

REFERENCES

AREMA (2002), Manual for Railway Engineers. American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-
Way Association.

AASHTO LRFD Bridge Specifications (SI UNITS 1998). American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials.

COVENIN 2003-89 – Normas Venezolanas Acciones del Viento sobre las Construcciones. Fondonorma
– Fondo para la Normalicación y Certificación de la Calidad, Caracas, Venezuela.

DAST Ri 012 (1978) Beulsicherheitsnachweise für Platten. Deutscher Ausschuss für Stahlbau (The
German Committee for Steel Construction).

DIN 18800 (1996) Stahlbauten – Stabilitätsfälle (Steel Structures – Stability). Deutsches Institut für
Normung e. V. (German Institute for Standardization).

DIN 1076 (1999) Ingenieurbauwerke im Zuge von Straßen und Wegen – Überwachung und Prüfung
(Engineering Structures in Connection with Roads – Inspection and Test). Deutsches Institut für
Normung e. V. (German Institute for Standardization).

DIN 4114 Stahlbau; Stabilitätsfälle - Knickung, Kippung, Beulung (Steel Construction; Cases of Stability
– Buckling, Tilting, Bulging). Deutsches Institut für Normung e. V. (German Institute for
Standardization).

Ri-EBW-Prüf 1998 – Richtlinie zur einheitlichen Erfassung, Bewerbung, Aufzeichnung und Auswertung
von Ergebnissen der Bauwerksprüfung nach DIN 1076 (Guideline for the uniform application,
recording and evaluation of results of the examination of structures according to DIN 1076).
Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Bau- und Wohnungswesen (German Federal Ministry of Transport,
Building and Housing).