• Nine Arup volunteers travelled to Panama to build a bridge across the River Ciricito.
• The 46m suspension footbridge will provide vital access to local schools, markets and medical facilities.
• The volunteers also met with local civil engineering students and invited them on site to see the construction.

A team of nine Arup volunteers travelled to Panama to build a bridge connecting the villages of Arriba, Teria Nacimiento and El Caracoral across the River Ciricito. The 46m suspension footbridge provides vital access to local schools, markets and medical facilities. Currently the river floods for four months of the year, when it cannot be crossed safely.

Arup worked on the project with Bridges to Prosperity (B2P). The not-for-profit organisation aims to overcome rural isolation through constructing footbridges over impassable areas – enabling people to access health centres, schools and towns.

It’s a tremendously rewarding experience working together with the local community and seeing first-hand the significant positive impact the bridge makes to their daily lives, and through sharing knowledge and building expertise we can help people build essential links that will have a significant impact on local communities within the country in the long term

These bridges provide a vital lifeline for rural communities around the globe. When the rivers swell, walks to school, work or visits to a doctor can become life-threatening without a bridge so we can make a big difference.