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Project Description
The residential area Rosaleda, in the town of Sant Fruitos, central Catalonia, sits across the road from a large commercial area. Despite the neighborhood accounting for over 6% of the town’s population, there used to be no pedestrian crossing across this busy road, N-141C, which caused many accidents. For this reason, the municipality decided to completely eliminate this risk by building a signature pedestrian bridge.
The two main concepts proposed for this bridge are the use of a classical arch structure as the main element and the use of high-performance and structurally innovative materials: stainless- steel and GFRP (Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer). The arch, which has a span of 40 m, is tilted to create a dynamic visual experience for users, and joins the deck for greater structural efficiency.
Design/Construction Approach
The structure is conceived in a way that it does not transmit the horizontal forces from the arch to the ground, avoiding expensive foundation systems. The arch is anchored directly to the deck on one side of the slab edge and through a strut element on the other.
The construction processes with stainless-steel are similar to those with regular carbon steel, but not identical. Specific techniques for cutting, bending, welding and finishing were adopted.
Further Information
Sobrino, J.A.; “Aesthetics of urban steel bridges”, Modern Steel Construction, AISC Magazine (ISSN 0026-8445), pp 52-55, March 2012.
Sobrino J.A.; Pedestrian bridges with hybrid Stainless Steel-GFRP Structure. Proceedings of the International Bridge Conference (IBC-11-51). Pittsburgh (USA), June 2011.
