Geotest

Bridge B35 over Rivi Rivi river, Malawi

• Location: Liwonde, Machinga District, Malawi
• Solution: Bridges, Asset Management
• Type: Railway bridges, Rehabilitation
• Promoter: CEAR - Central East African Railways
• Client: CEAR - Central East African Railways
• Scope: Reinforcement and Rehabilitation Design, Inspection, Safety Assessment, Geometric Survey, Anomaly Mapping, Erosion Protection and Material Testing
• Project: 2016/ 2017
• Construction: 2017/ 2018
• Photography: Betar Consultores
• Contractor: MOTA-ENGIL / PROJEX
• Dimension: 170m long
• Ver no Google Maps

The B35 bridge belongs to the coal railway line between Moatize and Nacala, located over the Rivi Rivi River, in Malawi.

This bridge is composed by eight spans, with a steel box girder deck, and a total length of approximately 170m. The end spans have 18.30m and intermediate spans 22m. The deck is supported on steel tower piers and reinforced concrete abutments.

The railway track consists of a single railway line, without ballast, and a lateral walkway.

The structural assessment of the bridge was carried out, including fatigue analysis considering the real loadings and intended timescale for the structure. The interventions had as main aim the reformation of the longitudinal fixation system, to ensure the suitability of the bridge longitudinal restraint bearing at the fixed abutment.

Some rehabilitation works were performed to improve the durability of the bridge, following the recommendations from a inspection previously carried out by Betar.