Expansion Joints for the Friendship Bridge

Brazil/Paraguay. The completion of the Ponte da Integração Brasil-Paraguai,
the friendship bridge linking Brazil and Paraguay, represents a dream come
true for the region that has been 40 years in the making. The long-awaited
second connection between the two countries has a main span of 470 m,
making it the longest in Latin America. A project of this size required suitably
large expansion joints, which were delivered by the structural protection
specialists at MAURER.
The Ponte da Integração Brasil-Paraguai is an asymmetric cable-stayed
bridge with a total length of 760 m. The pylons reach up 190.17 m in Brazil and
185.04 m on the Paraguayan side. The bridge crosses the Paranà river and con-
nects the Paraguayan city of Presidente Franco with Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil.
The bridge has an average width of 17.8 m, with lanes measuring 3.6 m wide in
each direction. It also has a 3-m-wide hard shoulder and a pavement measur-
ing 1.7 m in width. It will relieve the strain on the friendship bridge inaugurated
in 1965 between Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este. This older bridge will then
be closed to heavy goods vehicles, which will only be allowed to use the new
bridge.
Large swivel joist expansion joints
The record span required the largest expansion joint constructions ever built in
either country. Fitted at the abutments at both ends of the bridge, these flex-
ible elements compensate for movements that the bridge makes due to traf-
fic, wind and temperature fluctuations in relation to the mainland. Expansion
joints also ensure that vehicles can drive across this juncture unimpeded, re-
gardless of the transition construction’s displacement. The joints are installed
perpendicular to the direction of travel.
Bridges in both countries are usually built with simple rubber profiles and
narrow rubber expansion joints. But this was not sufficient for the friend-
ship bridge. The project called for sophisticated, low-maintenance swivel joist
expansion joints. MAURER Munich therefore collaborated closely with local
subsidiary MAURER do Brasil to provide the contractor with technical support.
What makes the swivel joist expansion joints special is the way they allow for
movements in all directions without damage or significant resistance. They
permit lateral, longitudinal and vertical movements in relation to the direc-
tion of travel, as well as any rotations. The profiles rest on top of the parallel
swivel joists, which, with the exception of those at the edges, run at a slight
angle to the direction of the road. This spreads the bridge’s tensile and shear
movements evenly and without fatigue across the gaps between the profiles.
As a result, the expansion joints are set to do their job for at least 50 years.
Welded on site
MAURER installed one each of its DS 640/800 and DS 320/400 expansion
joints, allowing compensation for bridge movements of 800 and 400 mm re-
spectively. The components are 13.6 m long and have two footpath sections
each measuring 2.3 m. Due to transport limitations, they were delivered in two
parts before being welded together under MAURER’s supervision at the end
of 2022.
Elastomeric bearings from MAURER do Brasil
MAURER also supplied 67 elastomeric bearings for the friendship bridge,
with dimensions of up to 1,100 x 1,100 x 102 mm. These were all produced by
MAURER do Brasil in Sao Paulo.
Construction of the bridge began in 2019. The main bridge section was completed
in August 2023, with work on the ancillary structures still ongoing. The bridge is
scheduled to be opened to traffic by the end of 2024. The project is being led by
the consortiumConstrubase-Cidade-Paulitec. Three more partners are involved
in the cross-border project: the Itaipu Binational hydroelectric power station
(a cooperation between Brazil and Paraguay), the Brazilian state of Paraná,
and the Paraná Road Authority (DER-PR), which monitors all road construction
projects in the state.