Bridge B45 over Shire River
- Location: Liwonde, Machinga District, Malawi
- Solution: Bridges, Asset Management
- Type: Railway bridges, Rehabilitation
- Promoter: Central East African Railways - CEAR
- Client: Central East African Railways - CEAR
- 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: 110m long
- See on Google Maps
Bridge B45 over Shire River
- Location: Liwonde, Machinga District, Malawi
- Solution: Bridges, Asset Management
- Type: Railway bridges, Rehabilitation
- Promoter: Central East African Railways - CEAR
- Client: Central East African Railways - CEAR
- 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: 110m long
- Ver no Google Maps
The B45 bridge belongs to the coal railway line between Moatize and Nacala, located over the Shire River, in Malawi.
This bridge is composed by four spans, with a steel box girder deck, and a total length of approximately 110m. The end spans have 25.15m and intermediate spans are 30.20m long. The deck is supported on reinforced concrete piers and 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.