Page 64 - FCC-N9-eng

We have good
memories of the
Despeñaperros project,
of the people
we met and of our
new friends.
Pardavila, head of Installations; Inmacula-
da García, administrative clerk; Salvador
González, in charge of Structures; and
hundreds of professionals thanks to whom,
Despeñaperros has become a symbol of
Spanish engineering.
The people who work at the company are
what makes FCC a reference in the industry
and represent the future of FCC. The com-
bination of talent, experience, enthusiasm,
dedication, and teamwork ensure the suc-
cess of any project.
This is precisely the case in relation to the
team who worked at Despeñaperros. Af-
ter working together in this project for more
than six years, they are now aware of the
importance of the project that they were
able to bring to fruition.
“We’ve been together for almost six years
and the personal relations among all collea-
gues are very strong. We were able to crea-
te a very good team, a permanent team”,
said Pedro Vega, the head of the Despeña-
perros Project.
The work to complete the project will be f-
nished by 2012. This will involve the Santa
Elena and Aldeaquemada sections. This
project affects current traffc in the existing
roads. The existing viaduct at the southern
part of the current tunnel must be demolis-
Preserving the environment required an
investment of 8 million Euros. The ob-
jective of the measures implemented
was to reduce and mitigate environmen-
tal impact. This included the elimination
of one of the existing roads to increase
road permeability and habitat connectivi-
ty, creating a green corridor in the former
National IV road.
The banks of the rivers were also cleaned
and restored and the habitats of species
such as the lynx, deer, and boars were
improved. It also included reforestation
and selective pruning to prevent forest
fres, integrating the landscapes at the
mouths of the tunnels, and restoring the
landscape, acoustic protection and the
preservation of archaeological remains.
Viaducts and tunnels
The construction of the necessary via-
ducts and tunnels underscore the signif-
cant engineering work involved in the pro-
ject. Three large, double aqueducts were
built: Santa Elena (160 metres long); El
Manantial (550 metres); and The Tinajue-
las (580 metres).
Another viaduct crossing the Despe-
ñaperros river was also built stretching
over 380 metres over the Madrid-Seville
railway and the current road to Madrid.
In addition, the project involved the cons-
truction of another metal arch-type via-
duct over the Cuchareros brook and the
420 metre-long Corzo tunnel, as well as
the La Cantera (240 metres) and the Des-
peñaperros tunnel (1,925 metres long)
under the “Los Órganos” nature site.
The project also included the construc-
tion of a double, underground electric
grid to feed the tunnel from the Almuradiel
substation up to Venta de Cárdenas (15
kilometres) and a tunnel control centre
featuring safety equipment to supervise
and to handle any incidence that could
arise along the length of the tunnel.
Safety and the environment