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The Almonte viaduct, constructed by FCC, wins the prestigious Gustav Lindenthal Medal
The Almonte viaduct project, undertaken by FCC Construcción in Cáceres, has been awarded the prestigious Gustav Lindenthal Medal. The medal is awarded each year by the executive committee of the International Bridge Conference (IBC) in recognition of outstanding achievements relating to bridge engineering.
The award will be presented at the annual International Bridge Conference to be held on 6 June in Maryland, USA. Each year, this event brings together over 1,200 international bridge engineers, senior executives, politicians and companies with extensive experience in this branch of engineering.
It is one of the most important engineering projects underway in Spain at present. It will be a global benchmark for high speed railways due to its characteristics and size.
The viaduct over the Almonte river is located between the municipalities of Alcántara and Garrovillas in the province of Cáceres. It measures 996 metres long and has a 384-metre central concrete arch-type span, making it a world record breaker in terms of high speed railway arch bridges. If the world ranking of concrete arches, for both railway and road use, were taken into consideration, it would be among the largest in the world.
In Spain, the viaduct symbolises a significant leap, beating the span length of the Contreras Viaduct, which has a 261-metre arch and previously held the Spanish record for concrete railway arch bridges, and the River Tajo Viaduct, currently under construction with a 324-metre span. It entails a huge technical challenge that secures Spain's place at the forefront of international high velocity and engineering projects.
The viaduct is located on the Madrid-Extremadura High Speed Line. As the Almonte river runs off into the Alcántara reservoir, the riverbed itself significantly widens. As such, a viaduct with a special span is required to enable the line to cross it. The Administrator of Railway Infrastructure (ADIF) is the owner of the line that was designed by IDOM and Arenas y Asociados, the latter also being the viaduct designers. The construction has been carried out under a joint venture project comprising FCC Construcción and, with a lower percentage, the Portuguese company, Conduril. The design detail of the viaduct and the construction engineering have been undertaken by the Technical Services of FCC Construcción.