Bogota Metro Line 1 accelerates U-girder production and erection

Bogota Metro Line 1, built by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), is an elevated line that runs for more than 20 kilometers.

The prefabrication and erection of 7,551 U-girders form the critical path of the entire project. Located on the Andean plateau, the site faces a prolonged rainy season, dense urban traffic restricting large-component transport, and an underdeveloped local materials and equipment supply system.

By mid-2024, monthly prefabrication output fell below 100 girders, single-span erection took 10-15 days, and the schedule gap kept widening.

The project team commissioned a fifth production line, installed enclosed rain shelters over the four existing lines, established a dynamic girder-temperature monitoring system to optimize curing duration, and developed hydraulic formwork rapid-turnover technology.

For erection, the team compared multiple girder transport schemes and optimized transport routes, applied Building Information Modeling (BIM) for full-process construction simulation, adopted elevated prestressing, and upgraded erection equipment to modular and standardized configurations.

The train has now completed its test run, and the project met the June 20 milestone on schedule.

Bogota Metro Line 1 runs for more than 20 kilometers. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The ridge girder erection machine. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Employees pose for a group photo. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]