Mezcala Bridge

17.936832 - 99.369256Koordinaten: 17 ° 56 ' 12.6 "N, 99 ° 22' 9.3 " W

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Autopista del Sol

Río Mezcala

The Puente Río Mezcala (formerly Puente Río Mezcala Solidaridad, colloquially also only Puente Mezcala ) is a motorway bridge on the Mexican Autopista del Sol ( Carretera Federal 95D ) that connects Mexico City with about Cuernavaca Acapulco on the Pacific.

Description

The Puente Río Mezcala crossing at kilometer 220 of the Autopista del Sol of Mexico City in 160 m height the Río Balsas, which is here called Río Mezcala. After Acapulco, there are still 186 km.

While leading through largely uninhabited area highway has narrow emergency lane, there on the bridge, only the two separated by guard rails carriageways with two lanes, but no hard shoulder or walking or biking trails.

A total of 882.5 m long cable-stayed bridge supported by three pylons and two narrower columns on the steep northern slope of the river and thus ( from north to south ) spans of 39.5 68 84 299.5 311.5 80 m.

The pylons and supports are made ​​of reinforced concrete. The central pylon with a height of 236 m, the highest bridge construction in North America and is higher than the pylons of the Golden Gate Bridge. It is stiffened over the bridge deck by means of two transverse bolts, whilst the other two, lower pylons have only one crossbar. On the big middle pylon stay cables are in each direction on both sides of the road carrier of 14 excited at the smaller northern pylon there are 10 each and at the southern pylon per 11 ropes. There, the extreme 5 ropes each side not in a track, but the are beneath it, anchored into the hillside jutting abutments.

The track support consists of a steel grid which is connected to a concrete ceiling. It has a height of 2.80 m.

History

The Puente Río Mezcala was from 1989 to 1993 built in the years along with the new Carretera Federal 95D that was created between Cuernavaca to Chilpancingo on a new, much shorter route.

On 17 March 2007, an accident occurred on the bridge when two school buses and a truck collided with a cargo of coconuts, which it caught fire, which spread to one of the lined with HDPE Polyethylene stay cables. The large heat dissipation led to the break this stay cable. The rope was soon replaced it, but the accident sparked discussions in in the professional world, the circumstances under which the failure of an individual bearing elements in long-span structures can lead to the failure of other elements.