Charlotte Fernández
UKIMEA Press Office,Leeds
Three Arup volunteers have travelled to Panama as part of an 11 strong team to build a bridge in the La Pintada district, one of the most mountainous regions in the country.
The suspended bridge will connect the Calabase community which is currently divided by the Zapillo River. Spanning 47 metres, the bridge will offer safe passage to community members often isolated from essential services like schools due to flash flooding whilst allowing others access to their farms more easily on a daily basis.
Arup is working on the project with Bridges to Prosperity (B2P), a not-for-profit organisation that aims to overcome rural isolation through the construction of footbridges. World-leading manufacturer, product, systems and services supplier Hilti Group has provided financial support, a full set of construction tools as well as sending six staff members to volunteer together with the Arup engineers.
While in Panama, the team also visited UTP Cocle (Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá, Cocle region) and gave a presentation to civil engineering students about bridge design and the project in Panama as well as giving them encouragement and inspiration for their future careers. A select group of students joined the team on site where they gained first-hand experience on the engineering and construction of the bridge.
Arup has contributed their engineering skills to the project, building on their past experience with developing ‘BridgeTOOL’ software, a design and learning resource which enables the rapid design of pedestrian suspension bridges in developing countries.
This second Panama venture builds on the success of the Arup and B2P project in Panama in 2014 and in Rwanda in 2013 which both had a significant impact on isolated communities creating safe access to schools, hospitals and markets year long. A key aspect of all of these projects has been the close collaboration with the community and the passing on of knowledge to build up local bridge design and building capacity.
“"Working with B2P and local communities and seeing first-hand the significant positive impact the bridge makes to their daily lives is a tremendously rewarding experience. This project is more than constructing bridges, however. Through sharing knowledge and building expertise we can help people build essential links that will have a significant impact on local communities within the country in the long term." Lee Franck, Project Manager, Arup
“"The best experience on site was to see the commitment and involvement of the Calalabase community for their own new bridge. Building this bridge together with B2P and three engineers from Arup was for our team an incredible experience. We are looking forward to seeing how this bridge will be the enabler of further positive change for the Calabase community."Nicolas Wohlwend, Project Manager, Hilti Group
“"Bridges to Prosperity relies on the dedication of partners like Arup to build footbridge projects in the most remote and challenging environments in the world. This partnership has made it possible for hundreds of families to safely reach schools, clinics, and employment opportunities, and has enabled our organization to push the boundaries of engineering and construction in the rural, isolated communities where we work. We are grateful to Arup for their commitment to safe access, and ICE for honouring the Ciricito Footbridge." Jake Moriarty, Panama Program Manager, Bridges to Prosperity