Ayesa

El Guardián del Castillo

The first figurative bridge in the world

Alcalá de Guadaíra, Seville, Spain

Opening: 28.03.2007

The new bridge over the Guadaíra River called The Keeper of the Castle is the first figurative bridge in the world. Its unique design, signed by Jose Luis Manzanares Japón, led him to win the Ideas Competition organized by the Public Enterprise Infrastructure of Andalusia, Giasa, held at the City Hall of Alcala de Guadaira, in Seville.

The length of the bridge is 123.50 m, distributed into four bays, with 18.50 m on the side and a center of 43 m. Structurally, it features a panel of 22,60 m in width, rigidly connected at its central axis (except in the area on pillars) with two circular arcs of 28 m radius in the two central bays, and two arcs of the same radio on the sides.

The bridge is part of a section located in the Municipality of Alcala de Guadaira, with an approximate length of 2,900 m.  It is the continuation of the Zacatín Roads that collects traffic from the A-92 from the SE-410 to Highway A-392 (Alcalá de Guadaira “Two Sisters”).

From the standpoint of quality control and innovation in materials, The Keeper of the Castle Bridge was the first bridge built in Spain with self-compacting structural concrete (Hormigón Autocompactante HAC). During the construction of the bridge the HAC was in the pre-approval stage in Spain. Therefore, our technicians were actively involved in this project. The experience acquired has been the subject of numerous technical publications and lectures at Universities and Technology Centers nationwide.