Track 8 BRIDGES / Presentation 2

Roebling in the Caribbean: Two Suspension Bridges in Dominican Republic 

Virginia Flores-Sasso

Pontificia Universidad Católica Madrileña y Maestra, PUCMM

Esteban Prieto-Vicioso

Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Ureña

vfloressasso@gmail.com

eprietovicioso@gmail.com

On July 16, 1842, German engineer John Augustus Roebling obtained his first patent for his novel way of manufacturing steel cables. From then on, he obtained other patents and devoted himself to the manufacture of steel cables, metallic structures and suspension bridges. Establishes John A. Roebling's Sons Company in 1848 and two years later John A. Roebling's Sons Company & American Steel & Wire Company. In 1855 he built the first suspension bridge for a railroad, as well as other suspension bridges including the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. In 1932, President Trujillo hired John A. Roebling's Sons Co. to design two suspension bridges in Dominican Republic, one over the Yaque del Norte River (1933) and the other over the Higuamo River (1934), located in San Pedro de Macoris, which for many years was the longest bridge in the Caribbean. The San Rafael Bridge was dismantled (1970’s) and only the concrete footings remain. The bridge had two metal towers on which the cables that supported the deck rested. The Higuamo Bridge consists of three suspended spans, the lateral ones of 245 feet (74.67 m) and a central one of 554 feet (168.86 m) in length, with a span between anchorages of 1044 feet (318.21 m). On both banks are two 120 ft (36.57 m) high steel towers on a concrete base. Suspension cables rest on these towers and on two pillars located at the ends of the 186 ft (56.69 m) spans, attached at their ends to anchorages at 245 ft (74.67 m) from the towers. The two main cables are formed by 8 x 19 Roebling cables that are suspending the bridge deck. The cables are fixed to the concrete by means of a special device patented by Roebling. Both bridges present original characteristics making them Caribbean heritage.