Al Sewyrah Bridge
The Tigris River is one of the two great waterways (alongside the Euphrates) that make up Mesopotamia: a region of fertile land that made sedentary, non-nomadic life possible in human history. Civilization still takes its cues from these rivers. Southeast of Baghdad, the Tigris River forms the initial boundary between Iraq’s provinces of Babylon to the west and Wasit to the east.
Nadeem Group was chosen to span the Tigris, and take another step toward increasing the infrastructure that connects Babylon with Wasit. The need to do so is both economic and strategic; Iraq’s future depends upon strengthening its bonds. Al-Sewyrah Bridge was the contract’s final product. Requiring 12 spans that were each 35 meters long, the total length was nearly 425 meters. The bridge’s structure is made up of five, post-tensioned beams (often known as girders) and a foundation of 42 piles, each 1.5 meters in diameter. Nadeem Group continued its own tradition of delivering only the most advanced techniques and equipment to Iraq. A self-compacting steel mold and in-place launching system were deployed – both for the first time in the country – in the process of constructing the bridge.