CEBU – CORDOVA LINK EXPRESSWAY (CCLEX)
Jobsite description
The Cebu – Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) is a four-lane, 27-metre wide bridge across the Mactan Canal connecting Cebu City to Cordova, Philippines.
The construction, with a total length of 8.9 kilometres and supported by pillars up to 145 metres high, makes it the longest and highest bridge in the Philippines.
The central suspended span is 390 metres long and 51 metres high, allowing boats to navigate the canal.
CHRYSO expertise
The construction of the bridge required 165,000m3 of concrete for the in-situ poured elements and the precast segments.
Based on its expertise and its large range of technologies, CHRYSO developed a unique and tailor-made superplasticizer to meet the needs of the jobsite, while optimizing the concrete mix design with locally available resources.
Product used
Project technical challenges
The first challenge taken up by CHRYSO was to develop a product robust to quality variation of raw materials, compatible with a type 2 APO cement (Portland cement).
The precast segments required a long workability retention of 4 to 6 hours (the concrete being transported by barge to the plant) as well as a rapid strength gain: 15 MPa at 12 hours / 36.0 MPa at 36 hours / C50 MPa at 28 days.
The structural elements – pylons, columns, pillars, slabs – were cast on site, also requiring a rapid strength gain (C20 at 2 days, and C40 at 28 days) and a workability retention between 4 and 6 hours.
Cebu – Cordova Link Expressway photo gallery
Project participants
Contractor: ACCIONA – First Balfour – DMCI JV