Rande Bridge Explained

Bridge Name:Rande Bridge
Native Name:Ponte de Rande
Carries:Motor vehicles
Crosses:Ria de Vigo
Locale:Redondela - Moaña, Galicia, Spain
Maint:Audasa
Designer:Fabrizio de Miranda
Florencio del Pozo
Alfredo Passaro
Design:Cable-stay
Material:Concrete
Spans:3
Pierswater:4
Mainspan:401m (1,316feet)
Length:1558m (5,112feet)
Width:23.46m (76.97feet)
Height:148m (486feet)
Traffic:50,000
Begin:1973
Complete:1978
Open:1981
Coordinates:42.2881°N -8.6605°W
Maintained:Audasa

The Rande Bridge (Galician: Ponte de Rande, Spanish; Castilian: Puente de Rande) is a cable-stayed bridge 9 kilometres from the city of Vigo and 18 kilometres from the city of Pontevedra, in the Province of Pontevedra, Spain. It spans Vigo bay across the Rande Strait, linking the municipalities of Redondela and Moaña.

History

It was designed by Italian engineer Fabrizio de Miranda,[1] the Spaniard Florencio del Pozo (who was also in charge of its foundations),[2] and Alfredo Passaro.[3] The bridge was built in 1978 and opened in 1981, just over a year before start of the 1982 FIFA World Cup. It forms part of the AP-9 motorway. It was exclusively a toll bridge until 2006, when it became a shadow toll stretch.

It has a length of 1,604 metres, its pillars have a height of 148 metres and its main span measures 401 metres. Although it was not the biggest (cable-stayed) span in the world when it opened, it was the longest span with more than two lanes.

It currently carries around 50,000 vehicles per day. It is believed that there will be congestion problems in the near future, so the widening alternative has already been studied and projected.[4] Since its opening to traffic in 1981, more than 230 million vehicles have passed through it. It did cost 3,658 million pesetas to build at the time.

In February 2015, Widening works have started, with an estimated investment of 107,9 million euro.

See also

Sources

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Notes and References

  1. Book: J. A Jurado. José Ángel Jurado Albarracín. Félix Nieto. A. Mosquera. Bridge Aeroelasticity: Sensitivity Analysis and Optimum Design. 14 August 2012. 15 March 2011. WIT Press. 978-1-84564-056-9. 31–.
  2. Book: Leonardo Fernández Troyano. Bridge Engineering: A Global Perspective. 14 August 2012. 2003. Thomas Telford. 978-0-7277-3215-6. 664–.
  3. Book: Giancarlo Colombo. Who's Who in Italy S. R. L.. Who's Who in Italy. 14 August 2012. 1998. Intercontinental Book & Publishing. 978-88-85246-26-3.
  4. Book: Julio Martínez Calzón . Manuel Juliá Vilardell . Álvaro Serrano Corral . Miguel Gómez Navarro . "Structural Engineering International", November 2008, n. 4 v. 18. 10.2749/101686608786455180 . 111156559 .