With the aim of connecting Pablo Ruiz Picasso and Pablo Gargallo streets, the council entrusted to Arenas & Asociados the conception of a bridge for connecting both sides of the Ebro. Framed into the rehabilitation of the riverbanks for the ”Expo of Water”, it was designed as a large bowstring bridge with 216 m of main span and 48 m of sag, the biggest concrete bowstring bridge of the world. Its construction, completely made in high performance white concrete was a technological innovation, making the bridge a symbol of the modern Zaragoza after EXPO 2008.
The bowstring mechanism allows spanning the river with cleanliness, in just one step. Its central arch is born and dies in the vertex of triangular frames in both sides of the bridge that represent gates for drivers, pedestrians, or cyclers.
The appearance of the transversal section of the Zaragoza's bridge, is a trapezium limited by two inclined concrete planes which look like the bow of a ship against the wind, and an intrados with a circular profile that produces a law of gently increasing edges from both lateral edges to the central axis of the bridge, which generates a figure of great geometric interest, rhythmic, with a sense of maximum smoothness and total formal integration.
Owner: Zaragoza Alta Velocidad
Project: Arenas & Asociados
Total length: 270 m. Deck width: 43 m. Main span: 216 m
Contractor: Dragados
Arenas & Asociados’ Role: Complete project developer
Relevant Publications: ROP issue 3490 (2008)
