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Engineers Without Borders

During their spring break week in March 2009, MSOE’s student chapter of Engineers Without Borders - USA (EWB-MSOE) constructed their third vehicular bridge in rural Guatemala. The bridge connected the village of Cuarto Centro de Estanzuela to the city of Joyabaj. The bridge was constructed over the Rio Temal, which floods for weeks at a time during the rainy season.

The bridge has brought immediate change to the approximately 100 families living in Cuarto Centro: children no longer miss school when the river is high and the community has safe and reliable access to health care and markets.

This is the third bridge project completed by MSOE students in Guatemala. For this project, the villagers provided most of the construction labor, while the municipal government provided equipment and some materials. MSOE students, with the help of their professional engineer mentors, completed all structural calculations and plans.