...camp system and mobility of the work crews for the construction. On Tramo III, for example, Conirsa has established two primary camp sites at either end of the road – one in Iberia an hour from the Brazilian border, the other in Mazuko close to the Inambari Bridge.
+ click to enlarge |
Drainage on mountain slopes is a critical feature of the new highway.
|
Each camp is a self-sufficient semi-permanent locale with dormitories, administrative offices, and industrial areas. Satellite telephone and direct links connect the camps to each other and Lima. Labs at each camp are constantly conducting tests on the roadway material and processes. Machine shops doing the major work on the roadway equipment are housed at these locations as well.
Smaller camps have been established on the route for specialized work such as gravel production. On Tramo II, a large facility has been built at Ocongate for the rock crushing and asphalt production.
From the time the bids for each section were awarded, each company has been responsible for roadway maintenance along their specific section. Much of the preliminary work included shoring up the substandard water crossings, widening the narrow sections and keeping the roadway passable. This maintenance effort is also integral to the construction effort, officials say.
The Andes
Perhaps the most formidable obstacle to the construction is the Andes. The roadway reaches 4,700 meters in one section of Tramo II and almost 5,000 meters at the highest point on Tramo IV.
That elevation creates a battery of complications, particularly the paving. The frigid alpine conditions above the 3,000 meter mark severely limit the ability to pave on a regular schedule.
"The ground temperature simply is not warm enough to allow us to pave properly," says Hildalgo García, the engineer in charge of the Tramo II industrial plant in Ocongate.
At maximum capacity under ideal conditions, Tramo II asphalt plant can produce 180 metric tons an hour. That amount is slashed to between 120 and 100 metric tons an hour due to the 3,750 meter elevation, García said.
Cliff Schexnayder Asphalt plant's 3,750-meter elevation creates operational issues.
|
That severe limitation of productivity is an issue for all the equipment used at the higher altitudes. Irsasur officials say that in some places they have to use twice as many machines to get the same amount of performance of one in more normal elevations.
“At this altitude the oxygen is very thin,” García says. “We compensate by regulating the oil pressure as well as the flow of air being injected into the engines. Keeping that balanced gives us proper combustion.”
The high altitude also creates manpower problems. Workers who are not acclimated to the elevations have severe limits on the hours they can work in the field. Irsasur required all the administrative personnel working at the high-altitude camps for Tramo IV to take an extensive physical before they were allowed to accept the assignment.
Conirsa has also been aggressive in training efforts, increasing the number of local workers who can operate the large machinery and other technical tasks needed on the construction effort, Villar says.
This problem is partially overcome by making an aggressive effort to hire local workers for the work crews but many of those with technical and administrative skills must come from the urban areas of Peru – located on the coast.
The Amazon Rainforest
At Puerto Maldonado on the Madre de Dios River, the geography follows the classic Amazonian rain forest pattern. It is a relatively level terrain but the frequent small waterways that criss-cross the region constantly create obstacles for regular traffic and impassable obstacles when they flood during the rainy season.
In the Amazon, the single biggest headache is the rainy season, where precipitation is measured in feet instead of inches. The season typically lasts from November through April; as much as 80 percent of the annual total of rain falls then.
“We have to be very productive and work rapidly to take advantage of the natural window of opportunity we have in the year,” Felipe says. “When there is sun and no rain we have to get as much work done as we can.”
Conirsa engineers are working to widen that window as much as possible as well. One innovative strategy has been to construct tents to pave under during the rainy season. These will allow a limited amount of production to continue during the half of the year roadwork is normally forced to halt due to the deluges.
The regular condition of the road also creates headaches for the construction effort.
For example, the bridges – where they even exist – typically are limited to only 18 tons. That makes it impossible to use trucks with more than two axels for transporting equipment, fuel and material. All these supplies have to be broken down and moved in on smaller vehicles.
And, to make matters worse, no bridge exists at the formidable Madre de Dios River forcing Conirsa to move all the resources across by ferry.
The Eyebrow of the Jungle
As the roadway drops out of the austere elevations on the eastern slopes of the Andes it quickly enters one of the most beautiful portions of the roadway and one of the most difficult for the construction efforts.
This area is known as the “eyebrow of the jungle” a region between 2,500 and 1,000 meters marked by lush vegetation, steep slopes and almost daily rainfall during half of the year.
The higher elevations of these sections are marked by scores of switchbacks in the highway. These give way to the uncertain terrain of the river valleys the road follows out of the mountains.
The handful of bridges that do exist are military-style Bailley bridges that are more than four decades old. All will have to be replaced, Funcke said.
These close conditions and steep slopes will require extensive preparation work. Multiple levels of terracing built above the roadway as well as supports below are needed throughout these sections. The abundance of runoff also places a premium on drainage works and bridges.
The complex geographical hurdles are complicated further by the need to keep the highway operational. Conirsa, for example, has begun shutting down the road through the daylight to do their work and opening it for traffic. The intermittent schedule as well as the additional time needed each day for cleanup severely cuts into their rate of progress.
For Irsasur, some of the sections might have to be completely closed for some period of time due to extensive blasting that will be needed. They are working with local authorities to find alternative routes but there are very few options in the region.
Post a comment to this article
Report Abusive Comment