COUNTRY | Spain
REGION | Europe
SECTOR | transport
SUB-SECTORS | rail, roads, bridges and tunnels
QII Principles | Principle 3: Environmental Considerations, Principle 4: Building Resilience
QII Sub-Principles | 2: Operation and maintenance, 2: Technological innovation, 3: Ecosystems, 3: Biodiversity, 3: Climate, 4: Disaster risk Management, 5: Vulnerable environments
Overview
It is the second bridge that crosses over to Cádiz from the mainland, after Carranza bridge, and one of the highest bridges in Europe, with a gauge of 69 meters and a total length of 5 kilometres. It is the third access to the city, along with the isthmus San Fernando and the Carranza bridge. Given the large width of the deck, it will be a high-capacity bridge: a motorway with two lanes in each direction and two lanes reserved for metropolitan public transport such as the Cádiz Bay tram-train.
It has two 180 m pylons, one in the sea and the other in Cabezuelas Harbour, a 540-meter span and 69 meters of vertical clearance. The bridge also includes a 150-meter removal span.
Cadiz's first bridge, the Carranza bridge, was inaugurated in 1969, and is now crossed by some 40,000 vehicles per day. In 1982 the Spanish government accepted the need for a second bridge.
Its construction has been contracted to the joint venture formed by Dragados and DRACE (Special and Dragados Construcciones). The project had a cost of 510 million euros and its execution time was eight years.
Timeline
Construction began in 2008 and the bridge was opened on September 24, 2015. However, the first projects began to be designed in the 1970s.
Relevance to QII
The Constitution of 1812 Bridge is an example for QII because of its uniqueness: the third European bridge of its kind in length and its construction in an environmentally and culturally sensitive environment. In addition, the project was financed from public budgets.
Benefits
The Constitution of 1812 Bridge was inaugurated in 2015. Since its opening it has improved Cadiz' connectivity with the rest of the region, both by public and private transport, reducing congestion and travel times. This bridge, together with the improvement works at the port of Cadiz, has boosted the transport of goods. It has also boosted previously depressed industrial areas.
On the other hand, during the design and construction, numerous environmental challenges had to be faced (the bridge is over the Bay of Cadiz) and the connection with the city (accesses, preservation of archaeological sites, etc.).
Metrics
The project and construction of the bridge was directed by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda of Spain. This Ministry financed the work from the public budget. It also supervised and monitored the different aspects: economic, environmental, etc.
Name of Institution
Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda of Spain.
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