BASCULE BRIDGE AND APPROACHES AT THE PORT OF SANTANDER

The solution was the successful proposal out of seven tenders presented in response to the call for Design and Construction tenders issued by the Valencia Port Authority.

The leading idea for the load-bearing structure of the bridge is to use a twin girder configuration which bearsthe transverse orthotropic deck on its bottom flanges. These girders are composed of horizontal beams, frontal and rearties, welded to each other and to the horizontalbeams; and nearly vertical struts in between them, carrying the compression load straight to the hinges.

One of the driving ideas of the design was to reach an attractive and elegant view of the bridge on its open position, its most frequent one, to serve as an icon for the passenger terminal in the dock, contrasting and in consonance with the port’s cranes and machinery.