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The bridge spans the Bentara River with a span length of 98.4 ft. Both soldiers and villagers supported the German students during the fourteen‑week construction phase.
Joachim Gauck, the President of Germany, said: “With its great practical value and its successful design, the bridge in Pitigala is a lasting sign of the commitment which is able to unite people.”
Bridge Construction
The future civil engineers designed the prestressed suspension bridge in such a way that it is easy to construct, as well as being flexible. After all, the structure should be built without heavy building equipment by amateur craftsmen who have, at the most, little site experience. In addition, the bridge was required to be reproducible for other projects.
The 19.6-foot‑high steel pylons were given releases at the base which could be fixed later. The pylons were erected by means of chain hoists and a bamboo crane.
The walk area of the bridge consists of 21 identical segments. The longitudinal beams as well as the cross beams are made of angle irons that are connected with simple bolt connections. Planks were used for the floor covering.
The entire walkway structure has a thickness of only an inch or two. Thus, the bridge's contact surface is rather small in the event of a monsoon. The walk area is curved upward and fits neatly into the landscape.
During the construction work, the students took on the roles of construction workers, teachers, site managers, controllers, physicians, concrete technologists, geotechnical engineers, architectural draftsmen, project managers, mechanics, and psychologists.
For the construction of the bridge, a total of 297.6 tons of concrete, 6.6 tons of steel, and 1,483 cubic feet of gabion rocks were transported, prepared, and assembled with pure manpower.
| Structural Engineering | Engineers Without Borders Karlsruhe Institute of Technology e.V., Germany www.ewb-karlsruhe.de |
