La Nueva Bridge

The bridges are part of a set of three pedestrian bridges that will cross the Tagus in the vicinity of the historic centre of Toledo. These three bridges, in turn, are included in a larger project which includes various actions, among others, the ecological restoration of the river banks, the rehabilitation of its hydraulic heritage, the design of the landscape of the banks and the improvement and layout of paths and trails, all along the thirty kilometres of river in the municipality of Toledo.

The three bridges link their position to existing historical hydraulic constructions - mills, weirs or remains of other 'ingenios'. So the abutment project includes the restoration of these valuable infrastructures and the bridges are located in places with a memory. The river's confinement in the canyon formed by the centre of Toledo means that the level set for the '500-year flood' is well above the normal water level of the river. The bridges cannot start from the river bank, they have to start further up the steep, rocky slopes.

These restrictions and the desire to build a bridge with as little visual presence as possible, led us to the structural type of 'band-strap' that spans the 132.5 m span with an edge of only 27 cm. Its structure is made up of two groups of post-tensioned cables that string and compress the precast concrete pieces that make up the deck. The foundations of the abutments, generally very complex and demanding in this type of structure, are resolved with micro-piles and anchor cables that take advantage of the surface level of the granite bedrock that forms the canyon of the river. The character of the bridge refers to the natural environment and the position of the abutments 'mid-slope' connects the roads well while keeping the structure away from the delicate river banks.

‍