McGraw Hill publication, Engineering News Record, the leading construction industry magazine, has granted the Coral Highway bridge its Global Best Projects Award of Merit. The bridge across the Chavon River in the southeast of the country soars over a 300-meter-wide, 40-meter-deep canyon and is a vital link on the 70-km-long Coral Highway that connects La Romana with Punta Cana. ENR reports that a multinational team worked on the construction using the innovative method of sliding 1,100-tonne, 303-m-long bridge sections across the gap with hydraulic jacks, concrete cradles and Teflon plates.
To compensate for extreme seismic conditions and layers of weak soils, the team designed 1.85-m-diameter piles up to 60m long, stabilized with polymers instead of bentonite slurry for increased safety and environmental friendliness. The lead designer for the work was Planservi Engenharia Ltd., of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The general contractor was the Brazilian firm of Odebrecht. The engineers were RMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil (structural), and Pinsa of the Dominican Republic.
Juvenalito Gusmao, director of market development and Carlos Theodorico, production manager for Odebrecht in the Dominican Republic, traveled to New York to receive the award.
http://enr.construction.com/people/awards/2013/0603-BRIDGESTUNNELS-l-Odebrecht.asp
http://enr.construction.com/people/awards/2013/0603-Global-Best-Projects-Awards.asp