Difference between revisions of "El Carrizo Bridge"

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Puente El Carrizo<br />
 
Puente El Carrizo<br />
 
El Palmito, Sinaloa, Mexico<br />
 
El Palmito, Sinaloa, Mexico<br />
670 feet high / 204 meters high<br />
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650 feet high / 198 meters high<br />
459 foot span / 140 meter span<br />
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712 foot span / 217 meter span<br />
2012<br />
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2013<br />
[[File:ElCarrizoAerial.jpg|750px|center]]
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[[File:17ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG|750px|center]]
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
  
Scheduled to open in 2012, El Carrizo is one of several amazingly high bridges that are a part of the greatest highway engineering project ever undertaken in North American history - the Durango to Mazatlán highway in northwestern Mexico.  As the second highest bridge on the route, El Carrizo will also be the third highest bridge in Mexico at 670 feet (204 mtrs).  Only the nearby Baluarte River bridge on the same Durango-Mazatlán highway will be higher with a deck 1,280 feet (390 mtrs) above the river.  El Carrizo's 620 foot (189 meter) tall central pier will also be the second tallest in North America and the third highest in the world after France’s Millau Viaduct and the San Marcos River bridge in Puebla state.  The Baluarte and El Carrizo bridges are just 3 miles (5 km) apart from each other.
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Opened in 2013, El Carrizo is one of several amazingly high bridges that are a part of the greatest highway engineering project ever undertaken in North American history - the Durango to Mazatlán highway in northwestern Mexico.  As the second highest bridge on the route, El Carrizo will also be the third highest bridge in Mexico at 650 feet (198 mtrs).  Only the nearby Baluarte River bridge on the same Durango-Mazatlán highway will be higher with a deck 1,280 feet (390 mtrs) above the river.  El Carrizo's 741 foot (226 meter) tall central tower is the tallest bridge on the highway and the second tallest bridge structure in all of North America after the Mezcala Bridge.  The structure is just one meter higher then the Torre Mayor building in Mexico City.
 
 
The Durango-Mazatlán highway will be the only crossing for more than 500 miles (800 km) between the Pacific coast and the interior of Mexico.  The path of this new 2-lane highway roughly parallels the famous “Devil’s Backbone”, a narrow road that earned its nickname from the way it follows the precarious ridge crest of the jagged peaks of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains.  The dangerous road is a seemingly endless onslaught of twisting, terrifying turns that are so tight there are times the road nearly spirals back into itself.
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The Durango-Mazatlán highway is the only crossing for more than 500 miles (800 km) between the Pacific coast and the interior of Mexico.  The path of this 2-lane highway roughly parallels the famous “Devil’s Backbone”, a narrow road that earned its nickname from the way it follows the precarious ridge crest of the jagged peaks of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains.  The dangerous road is a seemingly endless onslaught of twisting, terrifying turns that are so tight there are times the road nearly spirals back into itself.
 
 
By cutting a safer, more direct route through the mountains, the highway department of Mexico hopes to improve trade and increase tourism between the city of Durango and the coastal city of Mazatlán.  To achieve this connection, the Mexican engineers were forced to design an autopista with no less than 64 tunnels - far more than have ever been built on any road in North America.  The highway has a total of 8 bridges that exceed 300 feet (90 mtrs) in height including El Carrizo, Santa Lucia, Neverías, La Pinta, Chico, Botijas, Pueblo Nuevo and Baluarte.  Only China’s West Hurong and Kunming-Guiyang and Italy’s A3 highways have a greater collection of high bridges.
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By cutting a safer, more direct route through the mountains, the highway department of Mexico hopes to improve trade and increase tourism between the city of Durango and the coastal city of Mazatlán.  To achieve this connection, the Mexican engineers were forced to design an autopista with no less than 64 tunnels - far more than have ever been built on any road in North America.  The highway has a total of 7 bridges that exceed 300 feet (90 mtrs) in height including El Carrizo, Santa Lucia, Neverías, Chico, Botijas, Pueblo Nuevo and Baluarte.  Only China’s Western mountain highways and Italy’s A3 have a greater collection of high bridges.
 
      
 
      
  
 
<div style="text-align: center; font-size: 25px;">
 
<div style="text-align: center; font-size: 25px;">
[[File:ElCarrizoFinalElev.jpg|750px|center]]<br />
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[[File:ElCarrizoFinalElevation.jpg|750px|center]]<br />
 
El Carrizo Bridge Elevation<br />
 
El Carrizo Bridge Elevation<br />
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</div>
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[[File:ElCarrizoAerialView.jpg|750px|center]]
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[[File:5ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG|750px|center]]
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Image by SCT.
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With so much attention on the construction of Baluarte Bridge, few in the media have given much attention to the second cable stayed crossing of the El Carrizo gorge located just 5 kilometers west.
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El Carrizo was originally designed as a two span cantilevered beam bridge before it was redesigned as a single tower cable stayed bridge.  The current design has a central span of 30 segments, each with individual lengths of 8 meters and a central unit of 12 meters where the deck passes through the tower.  28 of these segments are connected to the central mast by a pair of stays.  Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
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[[File:6ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG|750px|center]]
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Image by SCT.
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[[File:7ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG|750px|center]]
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Image by SCT.
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[[File:8ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG|750px|center]]
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Image by SCT.
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[[File:9ElCarrizoBySCT.jpg|750px|center]]
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Image by SCT.
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[[File:10ElCarrizoBySCT.jpg|750px|center]]
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Image by SCT.
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[[File:11ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG|750px|center]]
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Image by SCT.
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[[File:13ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG|750px|center]]
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Image by SCT.
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[[File:14ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG|750px|center]]
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Image by SCT.
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[[File:12ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG|750px|center]]
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Image by SCT.
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[[File:15ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG|750px|center]]
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Image by SCT.
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[[File:16ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG|750px|center]]
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Image by SCT.
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[[File:0ElCarrizoBySCT.jpg|750px|center]]
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Image by SCT.
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[[File:1ElCarrizoBySCT.jpg|750px|center]]
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Image by SCT.
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[[File:2ElCarrizoBySCT.jpg|750px|center]]
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Image by SCT.
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[[File:4ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG|750px|center]]
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Image by SCT.
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[[File:0.5ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG|750px|center]]
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Image by SCT.
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[[File:ElCarrizoBridge36_copy.jpg|750px|center]]
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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
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[[File:ElCarrizoBridge18_copy.jpg|750px|center]]
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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
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<div style="font-size: 25px; text-align: center;">
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The Tallest Bridges of Mexico and the Torre Mayor Skyscraper<br />
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
  
[[File:6HighestPiers.jpg|750px|center]]
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[[File:MezcalaTowerComparisonFinal.jpg|750px|center]]
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Diagram by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
  
  
For those who might be interested, the list below shows the World's 10 Tallest Bridges as measured from the top of the foundation to the top of the towerAll are suspension or cable stayed bridges.
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[[File:ElCarrizoBridge11_copy.jpg|750px|center]]
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Puente El Carrizo pila IIImage by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
  
  
1.   Millau Viaduct, France 336 meters
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[[File:ElCarrizoBridge13_copy.jpg|750px|center]]
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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
  
2.    Russky Island Bridge, Russia 320 meters
 
  
3.   Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, Japan 300 meters
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[[File:ElCarrizoBridge21_copy.jpg|750px|center]]
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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
  
4.    Sutong Bridge, China 300 meters
 
  
5.   Stonecutters Bridge, China 290 meters
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[[File:ElCarrizoBridge27_copy.jpg|750px|center]] 
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11 workers hang 200 meters above the canyon of El Carrizo!  Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
  
6.    Gwangyang Bridge, South Korea 270 meters
 
  
7.   Jingsha Bridge, China 267 meters
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[[File:ElCarrizoPier.jpg|750px|center]]
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Image by ElUniversal.com.mx
  
8.    Great Belt East Bridge, Denmark 254 meters
 
  
9.   Edong Yangtze Bridge, China 242.5 meters
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[[File:ElCarrizoDrawing copy.jpg|750px|center]]
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An early computer rendering of the bridge.  Image by SCT.
  
10. Mezcala Bridge, Mexico 242 meters
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[[File:ElCarrizoSatelliteNew.jpg|750px|center]]
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El Carrizo Bridge satellite image.
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[[File:ElCarrizoSatellite.jpg|750px|center]]
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El Carrizo Bridge satellite image.
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[[File:ElCarrizoAerial.jpg|750px|center]]
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A view of the virgin forest in the El Carrizo Gorge before the highway was constructed.
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[[File:ElCarrizoFinalElevationWMeasurement.jpg|750px|center]]
  
  
 
[[File:DurMazTunnels.jpg|525px|center]]
 
[[File:DurMazTunnels.jpg|525px|center]]
Map of the Durango-Mazatlan highway showing the location of the 9 highest bridges and 59 of the 63 tunnels. The Neverías, La Pinta and Rio Chico bridges were completed between 2005 and 2008 and are open to traffic. The rest of the highway will open in 2012.  
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Map of the Durango-Mazatlan highway showing the location of the 7 highest bridges and 59 of the 61 tunnels. The Neverías and Rio Chico bridges were completed between 2005 and 2008 and are open to traffic. The rest of the highway opened in 2013.  
 
 
  
 
[[Category:Bridges in Mexico]]
 
[[Category:Bridges in Mexico]]
 
[[Category:Bridges in Sinaloa, Mexico]]
 
[[Category:Bridges in Sinaloa, Mexico]]

Revision as of 04:26, 25 January 2015

El Carrizo Bridge
Puente El Carrizo
El Palmito, Sinaloa, Mexico
650 feet high / 198 meters high
712 foot span / 217 meter span
2013

17ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG


Opened in 2013, El Carrizo is one of several amazingly high bridges that are a part of the greatest highway engineering project ever undertaken in North American history - the Durango to Mazatlán highway in northwestern Mexico. As the second highest bridge on the route, El Carrizo will also be the third highest bridge in Mexico at 650 feet (198 mtrs). Only the nearby Baluarte River bridge on the same Durango-Mazatlán highway will be higher with a deck 1,280 feet (390 mtrs) above the river. El Carrizo's 741 foot (226 meter) tall central tower is the tallest bridge on the highway and the second tallest bridge structure in all of North America after the Mezcala Bridge. The structure is just one meter higher then the Torre Mayor building in Mexico City.

The Durango-Mazatlán highway is the only crossing for more than 500 miles (800 km) between the Pacific coast and the interior of Mexico. The path of this 2-lane highway roughly parallels the famous “Devil’s Backbone”, a narrow road that earned its nickname from the way it follows the precarious ridge crest of the jagged peaks of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains. The dangerous road is a seemingly endless onslaught of twisting, terrifying turns that are so tight there are times the road nearly spirals back into itself.

By cutting a safer, more direct route through the mountains, the highway department of Mexico hopes to improve trade and increase tourism between the city of Durango and the coastal city of Mazatlán. To achieve this connection, the Mexican engineers were forced to design an autopista with no less than 64 tunnels - far more than have ever been built on any road in North America. The highway has a total of 7 bridges that exceed 300 feet (90 mtrs) in height including El Carrizo, Santa Lucia, Neverías, Chico, Botijas, Pueblo Nuevo and Baluarte. Only China’s Western mountain highways and Italy’s A3 have a greater collection of high bridges.


ElCarrizoFinalElevation.jpg

El Carrizo Bridge Elevation


ElCarrizoAerialView.jpg


5ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG

Image by SCT.


With so much attention on the construction of Baluarte Bridge, few in the media have given much attention to the second cable stayed crossing of the El Carrizo gorge located just 5 kilometers west.

El Carrizo was originally designed as a two span cantilevered beam bridge before it was redesigned as a single tower cable stayed bridge. The current design has a central span of 30 segments, each with individual lengths of 8 meters and a central unit of 12 meters where the deck passes through the tower. 28 of these segments are connected to the central mast by a pair of stays. Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


6ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG

Image by SCT.


7ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG

Image by SCT.


8ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG

Image by SCT.


9ElCarrizoBySCT.jpg

Image by SCT.


10ElCarrizoBySCT.jpg

Image by SCT.


11ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG

Image by SCT.


13ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG

Image by SCT.


14ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG

Image by SCT.


12ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG

Image by SCT.


15ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG

Image by SCT.


16ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG

Image by SCT.


0ElCarrizoBySCT.jpg

Image by SCT.


1ElCarrizoBySCT.jpg

Image by SCT.


2ElCarrizoBySCT.jpg

Image by SCT.


4ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG

Image by SCT.


0.5ElCarrizoBySCT.JPG

Image by SCT.


ElCarrizoBridge36 copy.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


ElCarrizoBridge18 copy.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


The Tallest Bridges of Mexico and the Torre Mayor Skyscraper


MezcalaTowerComparisonFinal.jpg

Diagram by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


ElCarrizoBridge11 copy.jpg

Puente El Carrizo pila II. Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


ElCarrizoBridge13 copy.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


ElCarrizoBridge21 copy.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


ElCarrizoBridge27 copy.jpg

11 workers hang 200 meters above the canyon of El Carrizo! Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


ElCarrizoPier.jpg

Image by ElUniversal.com.mx


ElCarrizoDrawing copy.jpg

An early computer rendering of the bridge. Image by SCT.


ElCarrizoSatelliteNew.jpg

El Carrizo Bridge satellite image.


ElCarrizoSatellite.jpg

El Carrizo Bridge satellite image.


ElCarrizoAerial.jpg

A view of the virgin forest in the El Carrizo Gorge before the highway was constructed.

ElCarrizoFinalElevationWMeasurement.jpg


DurMazTunnels.jpg

Map of the Durango-Mazatlan highway showing the location of the 7 highest bridges and 59 of the 61 tunnels. The Neverías and Rio Chico bridges were completed between 2005 and 2008 and are open to traffic. The rest of the highway opened in 2013.