Ulla River Viaduct
The Ulla river viaduct is a composite (steel-concrete) railway bridge, world record of its type, located over the Ría de Arosa in Spain, in a natural environment of extraordinary beauty.
The bridge blends in a discrete and elegant way thanks to the mix of colors achieved by the light pearl gray of the concrete and the light green of the paint applied to the truss, that melt with the colors of the forests and river in the surroundings.
The structure is shaped by a continuous composite truss, with a variable cross section depth, with double composite action in the zones with negative bending moments. The viaduct has a total length of 1620 m, with a central section, over the river, reigned by three large main spans of 225+240+225 m and a standard lateral approach span of 120 m, being the main span a world record of its type.
The five main spans, with variable cross section, have a total depth of 17.90 m in the support section and 9.15 m in the center of the span. The four central piles, with a carefully designed cup shape, are rigidly linked to the composite truss of the deck.
The truss, that follows a Warren layout, was defined in 15 m segments, with a separation of 6 m between the nodes of the top chord, and a 45-degree configuration for the diagonals of the truss in the zones with constant depth of the cross section. The chord and the diagonals are formed by hollow sections, with a width of 0.80 m and a height of 1.00 m (1.20 m for the bottom chord). The top and bottom slab are executed on site, and the bottom slab is extended beyond the limits of the negative bending moment zone, to provide a formal closure (with no structural function) to the section, that helps to improve the aesthetic of the viaduct, and facilitates the inspection and maintenance jobs.
The piles on the central zone, placed in the river, were built with the help of a temporary system of pontoons and sheet piles, in a double ring configuration, which made possible the execution of the foundations of the piles.
The steel truss was built, coordinately, in four different workshops across both Spain and Portugal. The main spans of the deck were built from the four central piles, following a balanced cantilever methodology. The lateral spans were placed using a heavy lifting technique in one of the sides of the viaduct and launched in the other side.
WORK SCOPE:
- Detailed Design and Project Management.
- Property: ADIF.
- Builder: Dragados - Tecsa Joint Venture.
- Ending Year: 2015
TECHNICAL DATA:
- Composite truss with double composite steel and concrete action.
- Overall length: 1621 m.
- Span lengths: 50+80+3x120+225+240+225+3x120+80 m.
- Width: 14 m.
- Maximum piers height: 60 m.
World Record in its typology.
Publications
- 2008:
- Viaduct over river Ulla in the HSRL, Eje Atlántico in Spain: An outstanding Structure in the field of Composite Steel-Concrete HSRL Bridges. F. Millanes,L. Matute,M. Ortega,J. Martín,D. Pajuelo,C. Gordo. Eurosteel 2008. 5th Conference on steel and composite structures. Vol. A. Pag. 147-152. Gratz, Austria. 2008
- 2011:
Ejecución de las cimentaciones del viaducto del río Ulla en la ría Arosa.
S. López,I Muñoz,F. Tarquis,G Burbano,F. Millanes,M. Ortega,R.A Estévez.
V Congreso de la Asociación Científico-Técnica del Hormigón Estructural. 2011
El viaducto sobre el río Ulla en el Eje Atlántico de Alta Velocidad: Una celosía mixta de 240 m de luz.
F. Millanes,L. Matute,M. Ortega,C. Gordo.
V Congreso de ACHE. 2011
Nuevos planteamientos en el control de la ejecución de puentes metálicos: el viaducto mixto sobre el río Ulla.
R. A. Estévez,F. Millanes,M. Ortega,A. Ferrandis.
V Congreso de ACHE. 2011
2014:
Viaduct over river Ulla: An outstanding composite (Steel and Concrete) High-Speed Railway Viaduct.
F. Millanes,M. Ortega,L. Matute.
Structural Engineering International. Volume 24. 2014
Viaduct over river Ulla: An outstanding composite (Steel and Concrete) High-Speed Railway Viaduct.
F. Millanes,M. Ortega,L. Matute.
MOCTOCTPOEHNE MNPA Magazine Nº 2. 2014
Viaduct over river Ulla: A composite truss in the Spanish Atlantic High Speed Railway Line.
F. Millanes; M. Ortega; L. Matute.
IABSE Symposium - Engineering for progress, Nature and People. 2014
Viaduct over river Ulla in the Atlantic High Speed Railway Line, Spain.
F. Millanes; M. Ortega; L. Matute.
Eurosteel 2014 - 7th European Conference on Steel and Composite Structures. 2014
Descripción general del proceso constructivo del tablero del viaducto sobre el río Ulla.
R. Estévez; F. Millanes; M. Ortega; S. López.
VI Congreso de ACHE. 2014
Ejecución de los vanos de canto variable por avance en voladizos sucesivos del viaducto del río Ulla.
M. Ortega; JA. Becerra; R. Estévez; P. Chico; H. Corres; J. Sánchez.
VI Congreso de ACHE. 2014
Ejecución de los vanos de acceso del viaducto del río Ulla de la margen izquierda mediante lanzamiento.
S. López; D. Mouriño; F. Tarquis; J. Sánchez; R. Estévez; M. Ortega.
VI Congreso de ACHE. 2014
Concepción de los detalles de la estructura metálica del viaducto del río Ulla.
F. Millanes; M. Ortega; P. Atanasio; J.L. Mansilla; D. Mouriño.
VI Congreso de ACHE. 2014
El viaducto sobre el río Ulla en el Eje Atlántico de Alta Velocidad: la ejecución de un récord del mundo. Parte I: Concepción, accesos al cauce y ejecución de las cimentaciones.
R.A. Estévez,F. Millanes,M. Ortega.
Revista de Obras Públicas 3563 Magazine. 2014
2015:
El viaducto sobre el río Ulla en el Eje Atlántico de Alta Velocidad: la ejecución de un récord del mundo. Parte II: ejecución de las pilas y del tablero.
R.A. Estévez,F. Millanes,M. Ortega.
Revista de Obras Públicas 3563 Magazine. 2015
El viaducto sobre el río Ulla en el Eje Atlántico de Alta Velocidad: una celosía mixta récord del mundo.
F. Millanes,M. Ortega,R.A. Estévez.
Hormigón y Acero Magazine. Vol. 66 Nº 277. September-December 2015. 165-190
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