Paterna-Manises Bridge

Up to 1 250 m³ of concrete used in the construction of the bridge were recycled from the demolition of the previous structure. The structure is a pilot project for the usage of recycled aggregate in a cable-stayed bridge. The recycled concrete technical specifications, process supervision and quality control design was carried on by Pilar Alaejos and Marta Sánchez of CEDEX (Centro de Experimentacion de Obras Públicas, Ministerio de Fomento, Spain)

The pylon was erected by means of a climbing formwork. The deck was built on shoring stays were tensioned after completion of the deck.

The project includes the construction of a new boulevard between Manises and Paterna and a new bridge over the river Turia. The bridge is the main element of this intervention thanks to its magnificent presence and the contribution of the construction process. The geometry solves traffic hydrological requirements efficiently and creates a great gate to towns over the river Turia.

The new cable stayed bridge reduces the obstacles inside the riverbed, raises the elevation of the deck by 4 m and represents a formally attractive engineering solution. The form of the pylon is inspired in a sort of knife sticked into the earth; weight of the deck is transferred through the cables. The idea of using some traditional material (tiling of horizontal strips) was found to be attractive for the lower part of the bridge.

The construction of the new bridge required the demolition of the preexisting structure. The authors proposed recycle it as raw material in the production process of the concrete for the new elements, mainly deck and pillars. CMD received support of Cedex, a Spanish scientific institution on civil and structural engineering, to develop the recycling and construction process.