Contents
Bacunayagua Bridge, Welcome to Matanzas.
Located 18 kilometers west of the city of Matanzas and establishing the territorial limit of this province with that of Mayabeque, the Bacunayagua Bridge is laid.
It was built between 1956 and 1959 on the Via Blanca. Its length is 313.50 meters with 11 lights of 28.50 meters and by these measurements it is the highest bridge in Cuba with 103.50 meters from the river level to the pavement.
Considered one of the seven wonders of Cuban civil engineering, it also offers a spectacular view of the local landscape. To the north you can see the sea and the river bed and the mouth of what in other times must have been the bed of a mighty river. To the south is the Yumurí Valley.
Strength of the Bacunayagua Bridge.
This emblematic construction is grounded in the rock with the support of Vierendel-type towers, tensioned in the central arch. The beams are 47 tons in weight each and were placed using launch armor.
Another achievement of the bridge’s architecture is having done it all in an area with lush vegetation and very difficult to access. It also shows pillars that were cast with sliding molds, closed stirrups, symmetrical polygonal arches joined at their knots by highly rigid crossbeams, and a head that supports the beams.
The bridge had no false work, it was completely prefabricated. Its roof has reinforced concrete beams, which save 28 meters of light with a 1.30 depth and a thickness of 15 centimeters.
Some of its history.
The project to build the Bacunayagua Bridge was carried out by the firm Sáenz, Cancio, Martín and its main designer was the engineer Luis Sáenz Duplace.
It was built between 1956 and 1959 and inaugurated on September 26 of this last year. This bridge over the Vía Blanca, between Mayabeque and Matanzas, has the longest free span in Cuba at 114 meters.
The first capital repair of the bridge was in 1976 and the last one began in 2011. The porticos were repaired and then the beams, boards and arches. All work ended in 2015. Thanks to this repair, the viaduct recovered its initial capacity and offers security for another 20 years or so.
Something that may interest you.
It is a civil engineering work, with an innovative design for its time, functional and very slim. Its dimensions and characteristics reveal this. It is located from the white road, starting from the province of Mayabeque. It is distinguished by a length of 314 meters of slab or bearing surface and a height of free light of 113.50 meters, from the surface of the river water to the underside of the slab. It also has a slab width of 16 meters, divided into four circulation channels of 4 meters each. It also stands out for its 114-meter arch extension and 1.30-mile cant.
