Permanent DYWIDAG Anchors Stabilize Tancredo Neves Airport

Since the construction of Tancredo Neves International Airport in the city of Confins near Belo Horizonte, Brazil, State Highway MG-010 has been of vital importance for the entire federal state of Minas Gerais.

Consequently, in 2005, the government of Minas Gerais launched the “Linha Verde” project­, which will create a modern link between the airport and the city of Belo Horizonte. Since then, extensive construction work has been carried out on the MG-010 Highway.

The construction of a significant retaining wall was part of the project. The wall is located in a section that will improve traffic access to Belo Horizonte and thus also to the administrative district and the new state government building of Minas Gerais.

Excavation for the retaining wall was carried out in alternating sections in order to ensure the stability of the slope. The wall is 245m long and has a total area of 2,050m². The anchors needed for the structure were installed from the top down before applying shotcrete.

For the construction of the retaining wall, Protendidos DYWIDAG supplied approx. 5,000m Ø 32mm DYWIDAG Post-Tensioning Bars. A total of 321 permanent St 85/105, double corrosion protected (DCP) DYWIDAG Anchors in lengths between 10 and 18m and with a maximum working load of 350kN were installed in the wall. Construction work on the retaining wall started in January 2010 and was successfully completed in June 2010.