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If it is only compared with concrete arch
bridges, regardless of railway use, it will be
the third largest in the world, only behind
the Wanxian bridge in China, which is 420
metres long and “very close” to the longest
of the bridges between the Sveti Marko and
Krk islands in Croatia, which is 390 metres
long.
Pablo Jiménez Guijaro, construction mana-
ger and area manager of Adif Alta Veloci-
dad, assures that “We are presented with
exceptional scales. Each day, we have a
new technical challenge to face.”
Innovation has been prevalent throughout
the entire process, serving as a crucial ele-
ment to successfully construct the arch.
David Arribas, head of bridges I department
in Technical Services at FCC Construcción,
who has led the detail project tells us that
“When one takes a leap forward in terms of
the scale of projects one carries out, many
new things are learnt along the way. In a
project of this calibre, any given element of
the construction process is innovative”.
The project was designed by Arenas y
Asociados and IDOM. FCC Construc-
ción Technical Services have been in
charge of implementing the detail pro-
ject, making it possible to carry out the
construction process of the viaduct
which is adapted to the special condi-
tions of a particularly complex structure.
“It is a particularly lowered arch with a
rather unique octagonal shape, even
though it is common for arches to be
rectangular. The arch begins with two
legs which are connected in the middle
to become one”, said David Arribas.
Pablo Jiménez Guijarro guarantees that
“FCC, as a powerhouse construction
company, has provided all of the engi-
neering resources necessary to imple-
ment the project. Both the bridge crane
system and the definitive system that
were used on the cable-stayed tower at
the were designed by the FCC technical
team”.
During the construction process of the
bridge, the construction technique that
stands out most was the use of bridge
The construction process
cranes to position segments one by one,
as well as to subsequently tighten the-
se by means of cable-stay systems. It is
a provisional tightening method which
enables each one of the semi-arches
until the closing of the arch to be under-
pinned, after which the bridge becomes
free-standing.
David Carnero, head of general pro-
duction on the project states that “The
bridge cranes are motorised and free-
standing, functioning as a cantilever and
move alone by means of a hydraulic sys-
tem present both at the lower beam as
well at the overhead gantry”, to which
Agustín Alonso, head of structural pro-
duction, adds that “The greatest compli-
cation during the assembly of the arch
was the fact that it varies a lot”.
David Arribas, head of the Puentes 1 Department
of the Technical Department of FCC Construc-
ción.