Kuwait steps up roadworks project
Highways department head says pre-fab road building has sped up pace of the project
Kuwait will build a 20km elevated highway using the ‘Segmental Span-by-Span’ method.
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The supervising authority in charge of the Jamal Abdul Nasser Road Development Project announced that structural works are underway following a comprehensive do over of design and drawings to allow for an alternative erection system for the project.
The roadworks will use the ‘Segmental Span-by-Span’ method of construction to economically and speedily build 20km of elevated motorways. The works include the construction of bridge segments, foundations and piers. They are advancing concurrently on construction sites along the project line, as well as offsite in the project’s segment Pre-Cast yard in the Al-Doha area.
“Through our joint efforts with the collaboration of Louis Berger Group and Pan Arab Consulting Engineers, we have managed to continue and advance with project works in a fast pace following a complete do over of design material, working drawings, shop drawings, coordination’s and approvals that was completed on account of applying a new construction methodology for the bridges and elevated roads,” said the director of the Highways Department, Abdul Aziz Al Sabah.
“So far, on foundations, we’ve completed 311 piles, 4 pile caps ready for pier constructions and a batch of bridge segments fabricated in the precast yard in al-Doha. On road works, we’ve opened 4 detours to date in order to continue with structural operations,” he added.
Al Sabah added that constraints and circumstances had prompted the Ministry of Public Works to adopt the Segmental Span-by-Span method to build the road project. This allowed the ministry to avoid public disturbance and save time. The method basically denotes completing one deck span of segments after the other and is preferable to other methods due to its economical value and speed of erection.
“Other Span-by-Span advantages include easy geometry control, lesser work space required and minimum use delays,” he said.
Al Sabah said that off-site pre-casting of bridge segments was underway in the 100,00m2 Segment Precast Yard, which was located in the Al Doha area. A fully mobilised facility in which bridge segments are being fabricated, cured and stored, the Yard helps the ministry guarantee speed on construction and quality control as well as minimising public disturbance.
