Inauguration of the Grande Ravine viaduct at La Réunion

The viaduct is one of four exceptional engineering structure on the Route des Tamarins that will help relieve traffic congestion in the western part of the island. On the morning of the inauguration, residents of the neighbourhood and visitors were welcomed at the site by VINCI teams and learned about the various phases of viaduct-construction project thanks to a special exhibition. In the evening, the Grande Ravine viaduct was showcased in bright lights every half-hour, and a show bringing together 200 artists was held at the Montée Panon stadium.

This contract was entrusted to a consortium made up of VINCI Construction Grands Projets, Dodin and Eiffel. Dodin (broker) provided project management; with Freyssinet providing prestressing expertise; Deschiron, earthworks; and Eurovia, sealing. Load testing was successfully carried out in April 2009: 24 concrete-transport trucks, each weighing 30 tonnes, were positioned at specific points on the viaduct to gauge the structure’s sag.

The viaduct alone involves all the major civil engineering business lines, such as deep foundations, dam-type (single-side) formwork and cantilevering. The site itself is impressive - the Grande Ravine is 170 metres deep. Most of the stresses on the 288 metre (3,560 tonnes) steel deck are counteracted by prestresssing in the abutments. This braced bridge which consists of a metal deck resting on concrete braces must span large distances since it has 70 metre long lateral spans and a 140 metre central span.

The entry into service of Route des Tamarins is set to take place on June 23, 2009.