Cancun’s “Bridge Within a Bridge” Under Construction to Save Underwater Cavern

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In response to an underwater cavern found in the Nichupté Lagunar System, the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport (SICT) is building a new “bridge within a bridge” to ensure the safety of the massive structure that will connect the hotel zone to the city of Cancun.

The project has been underway since summer 2022 and aims to alleviate traffic congestion on the Kukulkán Boulevard, which is the only highway connecting the city to its tourist area. The new bridge is also expected to serve as a safety evacuation route in case of hurricane threats.

According to Jorge Santiago Martínez, resident engineer of the Nichupté Bridge project, the cavern has a diameter of 70 meters and an undetermined depth that was detected using SONAR technology. “The deepest we could measure with the SONAR was 80 meters,” he said, adding that the actual depth is unknown.

To span the cavern, the federal agency has installed reinforced pilings to build and install a prefabricated arch bridge, which measures 103 meters in length. The bridge will be made of metal to allow it to clear the 70-meter-wide and approximately 80-meter-deep cavern.

The cavern was discovered when the project began, during soil testing and verification processes. “We detected a cavity that we couldn’t determine at the time,” said Martinez. “Later, after conducting studies, we used SONAR technology to determine the depth and shape of the cavern through three-dimensional images.”

As of May, the fabrication of the arch bridge had reached 45% completion, according to Guido Mendiburu, SICT delegate in Quintana Roo. The bridge is expected to be completed by August this year.

The project’s total cost has increased due to environmental measures and changes to the original design. Originally budgeted at 5.58 billion pesos, the project now costs 7.847 billion pesos. SHCP had declared the initial tendering process unsuccessful and then re-awarded the contract to Ingenieros Civiles Asociados (ICA), whose proposal was slightly below the initial budget of 5.58 billion pesos.

Source: El Universal