FCC Construcción

The project, in which a total of more than 226 million euro will be invested, includes a double roadway with three lanes in each direction to be built on the 9.4-kilometre-long Despeñaperros Pass relief road, between the localities of Santa Elena and Venta de Cárdenas.

Practically the entire layout runs through mountainous terrain inside Despeñaperros Natural Park. These two circumstances (difficult terrain and the park) mean that the layout of the new roadway consists of a string of viaducts and tunnels. Together the two roadways feature a total of 12 viaducts ranging in length between 156 and 580 metres and five tunnels dug from the inside out, from 197 to 1,925 metres in length.

The section containing Despeñaperros Tunnel is very interesting. The tunnel is split into two tubes, each 1,925 metres long. Four vehicle-worthy connecting passageways are driven between the two tubes, and there is a lay-by in the central section. At the northern tunnel mouth stands Cuchareros Viaduct, which is 70 metres long. Its 53-metre metal arch makes the viaduct environmentally friendly. Cuchareros Viaduct leads to El Corzo Tunnel, which is 420 metres long and connects the regions of Castilla-La Mancha and Andalucía.

One of the more striking solutions adopted is the process for building the viaducts, which calls for precast segments to be mounted in place using movable formwork from which the segments hang; another interesting process is the New Austrian Method used to dig the tunnels.

The environment is an important consideration, since the roadway crosses Despeñaperros Natural Park. A large quantity of measures has been prepared to reduce and correct environmental impact. The cost of these actions requires an investment of approximately 7.76 million euro.

Videos

• Alternative Despeñaperros (Spanish)