BRIDGE OVER THE GUADIANA RIVER IN VILLANUEVA DE LA SERENA

This design was the winning proposal in response to an RFP from the Extremadura Regional Council interested in a bridge that would cross the Guadiana River in an area of environmental and landscape interest.

The bridge design combines two structural elements in a hybrid and symbiotic manner: a continuous double composite action girder with prestressed upper slab and a centrally placed abacus. The girder is elastically built-in into the abutments whereas the abacus is rigidly connected to the composite girder in order to constitute a variable depth zone in the middle of the girder.

So to achieve an intense unitary image, the basic idea throughout the design process was to create a feeling of total continuity between both river banks by means of a single profile; hence avoiding the visual repetition of construction elements staggered in the river bed.