Puente de la Unidad Monterrey, Mexico
Design and construction of an iconic cast in-situ cable-stayed bridge
Puente de la Unidad is a memorable sight in Monterrey.
A bridge that was designed to
alleviate heavy traffic congestion in
the rapidly growing Monterrey area
of Mexico has become one of the
citys most iconic sights and has
featured on countless postcards.
International Bridge Technologies
began the fast-tracked projects
Scope of works performed
Project management
Technical and method
management
Production management
Supply and installation of post-
tensioning
Supply and installation of stay
cables
Supply and installation of VSL
Friction Dampers
design in October 2001 and the The structure carries four lanes of
contractor, VSL Mexico Ltd/Garcia traffic. The main span is supported
Ponce JV was awarded the from the north side by 14 pairs of
construction work in April 2002. SSI 2000 cable stays, varying in
size from 6-55 to 6-85.
The project in downtown Monterrey
involved the construction of the
bridge with its 304m main span over
the Santa Catarina River, together
with a 1,376m long approach viaduct.
The deck varies in width from 28.2m
to 34.8m at the on and off ramps
adjacent to the main pylon.
VSL Mexicos scope of works in the
50-50 joint venture included project
management, complete technical and
method support and part of the
production management. VSL Mexico
also supplied and installed 300t of
post-tensioning and the bridges 440t
of stays, using the VSL SSI 2000
ID 1090
The pylon features architectural
system. openings.
The stays are suspended from the
single asymmetric 60 pylon, which
had to be erected above a major
highway. The pylon design allows
traffic on the road that runs parallel
to the river to pass directly through
its base. The bridge construction
scheme involved a single-directional
cantilever built using travelling
forms and moveable supports.
VSLs scope of work also included
the supply and installation of 26
VSL Friction Dampers, designed to
absorb vibrations in the stay cables
to protect them from damage.
Post-tensioning was installed in the
bridges concrete back-span and
approach viaducts as well as
vertically for the raked pylon.
The deck includes a 150m-long
composite steel and concrete
structure connecting to the
north viaduct and a 185m-long
concrete transition span designed
to receive two access ramps.
Production peaked 10 months after
work started on the Puente de la
Unidad, with 300 workers, 20 full-
time engineers and 15 foremen on
site.
Pylon foundation prior to concreting
A launching girder was used for the main
span construction.
The iconic structure was Monterreys first
cable-stayed bridge
Strand totalling 300km was installed on site.
OWNER
Secretaria de Desarollo Urbano y
Obras Publicas
ENGINEER
International Bridge Technologies
MAIN CONTRACTOR
VSL Mexico Ltd / Garcia Ponce JV
VSL ENTITY
VSL Mexico Ltd
DATE
2002-2004
In addition, 50 professionals were
involved designing and supervising
the project both within and outside
the country. Work took place in
round-the-clock shifts on five
simultaneous fronts: pylon, stays,
in-situ transition span, main span
and end span.
The primary achievement of the
Puente de la Unidad project was
its delivery to a very tight
timescale. The design schedule
was nine months and bridge
construction was completed in 15
months - a time frame rarely
achieved for so complex a
structure.
In 2004, Puente de la Unidad won
the bridge category of the Post-
Tensioning Institute award,
following its Grand Award from the
American Council of Engineering
Companies. Entries were based on
creativity, innovation, ingenuity,
cost-effectiveness, functionality,
buildability and aesthetics.
The bridge, which also has special
aesthetic features including
architectural lighting and the use of
white concrete, opened in
September 2004.
Edited 2008
www.vsl.com
ID 1090