Repair works are to be carried out on the Cau Cau bridge in Chile. The Ministry of Public Works(MOP) has said that the work will now finally be going ahead.
The bridge is located in the town of Valdiva, in Chile’s Los Rios region and some 840km to the south of capital Santiago. The crossing spans the Cau Cau River and connects Valdivia with Teja Island.
The work is expected to cost US$14.8 million and should take up to 18 months to complete. The repairs have been planned for some time and the bridge has been the cause of much discussion.
The work is needed as the bascule bridge was intended to be able to lift so as to allow vessels to pass. However, faults in the design and construction meant that it has never performed as intended. The bridge originally cost around US$30 million to construct and was the subject of a lengthy legal dispute.
