The closure joint was emptied and bulkheads were opened in a 45-minute operation by the Marine Joint Venture which comprises Volker Construction International and Dragamex (Boskalis).
The road tunnel runs for a total length of 1,200m with a 690m stretch below the riverbed. The submarine section is formed of five precast concrete elements that measure 138m-long, 25m-wide and 9.2m-high. Casting took place in specially constructed basin in a dry dock positioned adjacent to the alignment.
The elements were then floated out of the dock on a specially constructed Volker modular catamaran. The company said the advantage of this was that it could easily expand or reduce its capacity, and was very stable when lowering the pieces to the prepared gravel bed.
Locking fill was applied to anchor the elements in place, and then rock protection was provided. After this a six-month period to allow for initial settlement of the elements took place before construction of the closure joint.
Tender and detailed design was provided by TEC. The delivery consortium was Constructora Tunel de Coatzacoalcos (CTC).
