Innovation in high-speed viaducts: global challenge

Viaducto de alta velocidad-IDOM-INNOVACION
Viaducto de alta velocidad-IDOM-INNOVACION

Idom has been involved in this unique structure since 2011, participating in the design, construction project and technical support provided to adif’s works manager, in collaboration with the arenas company and its partners.

The new viaduct over the Almonte River was awarded last June with the Gustav Lindenthalm Medal, a prestigious decoration given by the International Bridge Conference sponsored by the Engineer’s Society of Western Pennsylvania. This award is accompanied by the second prize in the III Engineering Awards of ACHE regarding the Bridges category.
High resistance concrete with 80 MPa has been used to carry out the viaduct’s arch. A type of cement exclusively supplied for this work, with a low content of tricalcium aluminate, has been used in its dosage in order to avoid the possible occurrence of deferred ettringite phenomena. Another particularity of this cement is its greater grinding fineness, based on which initial high resistances above 40 MPa have been obtained after 12 hours. In addition, the concrete has been designed to be self-compacting: it has been simply poured down, facilitating the performance and improving safety conditions during construction, carried out at a high altitude above the dam.
IDOM has been involved in this unique structure since 2011, participating in the design, construction project and technical support provided to ADIF’s Works Manager, in collaboration with the Arenas Company and its partners.
With a span of 384 m, the arch beats three world records: the world’s highest high-speed arch overtaking the Dashegguan Bridge in China (336 m), the largest concrete railway arch, exceeding the bridge over the Froschgrund Lake on the Nürnberg-Erfurt line from Germany by more than 100 m; and this is the third largest concrete arch in all categories.