Thursday, January 5, 2012

Las Flores - Our biggest bridge project ever!



The menfolk recently started in on a new bridge construction project. At 250' across, and a solid concrete bridge (not a hanging cable bridge), this is a huge undertaking. The goal was to complete the construction of this bridge during the dry season (which will end around the first half of May) for obvious reasons, but setbacks and delays have occurred, so that it looks like we may not meet this goal - but it won't be for lack of trying!

As with all of the bridge projects, the first step (after all of the planning and engineering) is to dig down and pour concrete footers and a strong wall on each bank. This bridge will also have two supporting piers out in the middle of the river - something new for our crew.

Today I'm posting pictures of the digging on the first bank.






The bottom of this trench won't be flat. The men dug some sections 5 feet deeper than the rest. The deeper sections, filled with concrete, will be like teeth, helping to hold the wall in place. You can see the beginnings of the teeth in the last two photos.

Every morning, before beginning the days digging, the men had to bail water out, as the trench filled up overnight.

2 comments:

Randall and Rachel Beita said...

Wow! What hard work! Prayers for quick building, strength and health.

Beth said...

How will the concrete solidify if the trenches fill with water each night? Thanks to one who took the great photos!