30 years of the Papaloapan River Bridge (1995-2025).

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the commissioning of the Papaloapan River Bridge in Veracruz (Mexico), one of the first large cable-stayed bridges designed by CFCSL in Latin America.

The Papaolapan River owes its name to the Nahuatl language, which means “river of butterflies” (pāpālōtl = butterfly, āpan = river). The Nahua peoples named it for the abundance of butterflies that inhabited its banks thanks to the humid tropical climate, lush vegetation and the constant presence of water.

With a main span of 203 meters, 112 cables arranged in 8 semi-stages and a 407-meter deck, this project was part of the modernization of the La Tinaja-Acayucan highway in the 1990s, a key corridor for the economic development of southeastern Mexico.

In this bridge we tried to reduce all elements to a minimum: the deck is formed by two solid edge beams, joined by transverse diaphragms, and the towers by two independent shafts triangulated under the deck to resist seismic actions.

At CFCSL we celebrate this anniversary with pride and gratitude to the engineers who made this work possible.