The Euphrates and Tigris rivers meet in Basra, Iraq to create the Shatt al-Arab river that flows directly into the Persian Gulf. Along its course just north of the city center is the mythically named Sindbad Island, joined to the river’s shores by two bridges known simply as East and West, that together, make up Basra’s vital Al- Fayha’a Bridge.

The East bridge was bombed in 1991 – leaving the highway toward Iran impassible. Nadeem Group was tasked with the repairs. The project required not only repositioning six displaced spans of the bridge, but also casting four new ones, and supplying and fixing both the bearings and expansion joints.

Nadeem Group reintroduced to Iraq the technique of Incremental Launching to finish the job. The precast sections were slid into place along Teflon bearings, eliminating altogether the need for any traditional scaffolding. This technique hadn’t been employed in the country since the 1980s.