Bridge for the Yaque

Produced: 1950s

Length: 14 Minutes

Bridge for Yaque is an informative historical description of the U.S. Steel manufacturing company constructing a bridge in the Dominican Republic. There is no bridge over the North Yaque River in Santiago, and the building of this bridge is an important part of Dominican Republic History. The film details how the designers must account for many factors, including the traffic demands and topography of the region. What they will then begin is a superb example of 20th century bridge building. Once the engineers of the bridge building company have checked all aspects of the design, the earthmoving will begin. Large amounts of earth are displaced in order to create the build up to the bridge deck. They will use aggregate from the river and mix it in with the concrete, taking advantage of local resources when possible. In a daring bit of construction work, a dam has to be constructed to enable the use of a crane in the middle of the river! All the work will be done so that the bridge is symmetrical from one side to the other. Once the steel structure is secure, the reinforced concrete bridge deck is put in place. Concrete is poured over, and a vibrator is used to reduce air voids between the concrete and the rebar. It is brushed, wetted, and cured, which is a key to building a strong bridge. This is a great look at historical bridge engineering.