DSC Supplies Stay Cable Systems for Spain’s First Environmentally Friendly Bridge

The cities of Manises and Paterna near Valencia, Spain, are linked by an unusual new bridge: a stay cable bridge that uses the materials of its predecessor.

According to experts, up to 1,250 m³ of concrete were taken from the beams of the old bridge structure, reprocessed and used for the new bridge. The recycled materials were used for the construction of the new bridge deck and for the driving surface of the 1km long new communication road.

The new bridge has a total length of 145m, a main span of 92m and a width of 22.4m. It is thus considerably wider than its 9m wide predecessor and offers room for one lane per driving direction as well as a pedestrian crossing and a new bicycle lane.

In addition, the connection between the cities of Manises and Paterna has been improved by the addition of a new bus line across the bridge. The stay cable bridge leads to a newly constructed roundabout and can now be used by approximately 14,000 vehicles per day instead of the previous 11,500. With its height of 35m, the new bridge is 4m higher than the old connection between Manises and Paterna.

DYWIDAG Sistemas Constructivos S.A. supplied and installed the 34 stay cables on the bridge. In total, 16 type DG-55, 6 type DG-37 and 12 type DG-31 DYNA Grip^® Stay Cables with a total strand weight of 115t were used for the bridge.

The stay cables are arranged in two planes with the longest cables being 80m in length. The strand used is galvanized, waxed and PE coated. The strands run inside a white duct that is fitted with an external PE helix.

The installation of the stay cables started on November 13th, 2008 and was successfully completed on December 27th, 2008, after an installation period of only 6 weeks. A second stressing operation was carried out at the end of January 2009, and work was completed in March 2009 to the satisfaction of all parties involved.