The Puente Ingeniero Carlos Fernandez Casado“ which takes its name from the construction engineer – spans the Barrios de Luna reservoir, in the province of Leon. It was built between 1981 and 1983 as part of the AP-66 or Ruta de la Plata motorway. It is a cable-stayed bridge, measuring 643 metres long and 22 metres wide, for four lanes, and was the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world at that time.

It has two towers more than 100 metres high, which open at the bottom. Each tower has 27 pairs of front cables and 28 pairs of rear cables. The bridge is divided into three spans, the central span measuring 440 metres and the two side spans measuring 66 metres. A sliding joint was built into the central span to absorb expansion movements.Carlos Fernandez Casado was one of the most prestigious and innovative civil engineers in his profession. From the outset, he specialised in resistant bridge structures, researching new materials in his own laboratory. Professor of Bridges, he examined archives and libraries and travelled the roads of Spain to classify bridges, Roman roadways, aqueducts and other civil engineering works to lay the foundations of the history of engineering. The Puente del Dragan spans the Guadaa­ra river in Alcala de Guadaara (Seville). It was built by civil engineer Caminos Jose Luis Manzanares and opened on 28 March 2007. It is 123 metres long and is divided into four spans: the centre spans measures 43 metres and the side spans 18.50 metres. It was the first figure shaped bridge in the world and emulates a dragon coming out of the castle hillside crossing the river. Its engineer frames it in Epic Structures, as it is a work associated to a story or legend. It is inspired by the architecture of Antoni Gauda­ and Park Gaell, Barcelona. The bridge was built as part of the Alcalai de Guadaa­ra bypass, linking the A-92 to the A-392, in reinforced concrete covered in tile.

Source: Spanish Post

published June 27th, 2013