The São Vicente Bridge crosses the Cacheu River and is one of the greatest Public Infrastructure Works ever built in Guiné-Bissau. It is situated on the road connecting Bissau to the border with Senegal.
In the Tender documents the original design follows French design practice and regulations. When possible and accepted by the control team, they were adapted to the Portuguese practice and equipment’s.
The São Vicente Bridge is a 11.40m wide single box girder deck, with ten spans of 25 + 52 + 6 × 86 + 52 + 25 metres, and a total length of 670m. The reinforced, prestressed concrete deck was cast “in situ” in 5 meter segments using the balanced cantilever method.
The piers are in reinforced concrete and have a hexagonal shape. The shafts of the five central piers have a hollow cross-section and the remaining two at each extremity are massive.
The foundations are indirect, with 1.60m diameter piles up to a maximum depth of 70m. The deck is supported on pot-bearings at the piers and abutments.
The construction began in May 2007. The work was completed in June 2009 allowing then the pedestrian and road traffic with a strategic partner and coming to answer a long held ambition of the Guinean population.
