Developing our presence in Central America
In the past two years, ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products’ beams were used to build two bridges in Tegucigalpa:
- Via Rapida bridge
- Boulevard Kuwait de la Vega bridge
HISTAR® 460 makes a grand entrance in Central America
Due to political and economic issues, as well as a concrete-oriented culture, steel is not a preferred solution in Central America. However, the trend may soon reverse thanks to the first project in the region involving HISTAR®. Beams produced by ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products’ Differdange mill were used to build a new bridge in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras.
HISTAR®: an efficient and cost-effective solution for bridges
The new bridge on Fuerzas Armadas Boulevard in Tegucigalpa is now an advantage for the inhabitants of the area, giving more fluidity to the traffic and allowing people living in the area to leave in about 5 minutes – contrary to the 30 minutes it used to take.
HISTAR® 460 / A913 grade 65 was selected for this project thanks to its many advantages:
- Weight savings due to higher resistance.
- Better and more efficient weldability. Pre-heating can even be reduced or eliminated in some cases.
- Minimum impact through a slender solution and fast erection (compared to a concrete bridge).
- Savings (thanks to smaller lifting equipment, smaller consumption of electrodes for welding, etc.).
Construction of the bridge started in May 2018 and ended in July 2019 with a 100-metre-long structure made with HISTAR® girders.
A successful joint task force
A partnership between ArcelorMittal International and SOGESA (a Honduran local steel distributor) was capable of bringing the first HISTAR® 460 / A913 Grade 65 solution to the region. The project, named ‘Paso a desnivel bulevar Fuerzas Armadas-Metromall’, included building a new bridge along the road connecting two important points of the Honduran capital as part of a bundle of measures aimed at reducing traffic problems that had been hampering the city for a long time.
The alliance between ArcelorMittal International and SOGESA took steps such as promoting A913 to local design companies and steel fabricators, which set the stage for the high strength hot rolled steel solution to succeed. In addition, they managed to get the final decision-takers (Tegucigalpa City Hall) on board after a fruitful round of discussions on how a steel solution can be effective in infrastructure projects, showing them the benefits of a HISTAR® solution.
Text: ArcelorMittal Europe Communications, Constructalia
Images: ArcelorMittal