The village of Guacamayas Hamaca is a small community consisting of about 200 people, primarily farmers. The village is geographically divided by the Motagua River, the largest river in Guatemala. Seven years ago, the community constructed a pedestrian bridge across the Motagua to ensure their children could travel safely to school and other community members could travel safely to other villages and markets to buy and sell goods. Though the bridge is a cable-suspended bridge like many EWB bridges, it was built without the assistance of a licensed engineer and was under-designed for the span of the river. As a result of time and inadequate materials, it is in poor condition and unsafe to cross. However, the community must still use the bridge daily as they have no other way to safely and conveniently cross the river.
Guacamayas Hamaca Bridge Project
Guatemala
The scope of the project was to build a new bridge which provides the community with safe passage across the river. This allows more students to attend school each day and increase overall enrollment in the school. Other community members will be able to more easily transport their goods to nearby villages and markets. In addition to Guacamayas Hamaca, other nearby communities will benefit in similar ways. The new cable-suspended pedestrian bridge was built in the style outlined by the Bridges to Prosperity bridge design manual. We look forward to hearing how this bridge will benefit the community!
For general information on our design projects, click on the 'Current Projects' tab.
For further information in regards to the Guacamayas Hamaca Bridge Project, contact the project leads.