2009 Project: Armenta Pedestrian Bridge

Country: Honduras, Community: Armenta Lirios, Cost: $21,200, Funding sources: EWB Chapter, Sargent & Lundy, EWB Spring Grant, Stanley Consultants, HNTB, HTH, ASCE Structures Group, EN Engineering, and individual donations.

The community of Armenta Lirios lies at the foothills of mountains bordering the large industrial city of San Pedro Sula, Honduras. The impoverished community is split in two by a waterway originating up in the mountains. In 2008, the community’s Pastor Naphtali requested assistance to construct a pedestrian bridge for the safety and development of his community. He explained that during the dry season the river runs low and is crossable at many locations over boulders, however, when the rainy season hits in June, the mountain stream turns into a torrent that separates the community making crossing dangerous or impassable. More than 1000 residents were being affected by this dangerous river during the rainy season and for approximately 30 days out of the year, the river was completely impassable, leaving 60 percent of the school children attending a nearby school unable to attend classes. A nearby medical clinic and community center was also unreachable by anyone on the opposite side of the river.

His urgent pleas so moved Scott Eshleman, a bridge engineer from Chicago, that he brought it to EWB for project adoption. In February of 2009 a team of four engineers from EWB-CPC visited this community thru assistance from HTH. They met with the village president, pastor and various residents of the community. They heard the various needs for a safe and dependable river crossing. They understood that the bridge needed to be built prior to the coming rainy season and committed to do all they could to make this project a reality.

Responding to the call for professional assistance, on May 1, 2009, a 10-member EWB-CPC team traveled to the small community of Armenta-Lirios in northwest Honduras to construct the pedestrian bridge they had long awaited. The goal was to construct a 45-foot concrete bridge with “U” shaped deck cross-section and cambered span. HTH had supplied the skilled labor, translators, and had coordinated all material purchases and accommodations ahead of the team’s arrival. They were immediately welcomed as the first North American team to ever assist this community and graciously received their blessing. Bridge construction started on the day of arrival of May 1, 2009 and by May 9 the final concrete pour was completed. Two weeks later on May 28, 2009, Honduras was hit with a 7.1 earthquake followed by a week of daily aftershocks. EWB-CPC heard from the locals that the people of Armenta-Lirios were fine and that the bridge had survived. The community invited the EWB team back for the grand opening celebration on June 21, 2009, but unfortunately the rise in airfare prohibited their involvement. They received a photograph of the celebration with the pastor leading everyone in prayer. The bridge had been painted in the colors of the Honduras National Soccer Team and was completely filled end to end with grateful villagers. EWB-CPC looks forward to returning to the community in the future to explore the possibilities of their next project with them.

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