The expressway of Paseo de la República, is one of the main road axes of the city of Lima. Due to its trench section, it represents a great obstacle between the districts of Surquillo and Miraflores. In order to facilitate the permeability to traffic between both neighbourhoods, the Junín and Leoncio Prado bridges have been built.
Both bridges, arches secured by the deck (“bowstring”), present two unbraced lateral metal arches that separate the pedestrian traffic of the road. This arrangement was selected due to gauge limitations and in order to completely clear the expressway of intermediate piers that pose a constant danger of accidents.
The Leoncio Prado Bridge, with a 42.80 m span between supports, is the lowest arch, and is joined to the lower tie beam by means of rigid hangers. The wide sidewalks, arches, ribs and edge beams all follow a curved path to allow the entrance and exit of the bridge, inviting pedestrians and vehicles to cross. Although the main elements, such as the arches and longitudinal ribs, have a constant width, the sidewalks have a variable width that goes from 4.00 m at the entrance, to 3.30 m at the light center.
In Junín bridge, with a span of 55.50 m, the arches are attached to the deck by means of hangers made of stainless-steel bars. Despite the fact that the lower ribs of the bowstring bridge continue to maintain the same entry and exit widening, the guideline of the arch is completely straight in plan, so the tie rods form a three-dimensional surface that covers pedestrians as they pass over the Paseo de la República.
