La Vicaría arch bridge

Abstract

La Vicaria Bridge is a half-through arch viaduct with a composite deck. It crosses La Fuensanta, a reservoir in the Spanish province of Albacete fed by the Segura River. The viaduct?s two arches, each positioned on one side of the deck, span 168 m of its total 260-m length. Both slant inward at a 10º angle. The quasi-rectangular arch sections consist of folded steel plates filled with self-consolidating concrete, while the deck comprises two longitudinal steel trough girders connected by a concrete slab. The construction procedure used was to assemble the 120-m bowstring arch on the reservoir bed first and then hoist it into place 40 m above ground level with hydraulic jacks. It was subsequently joined to the rest of the bridge members built to cantilever from the two banks.