Description
The Antzuola Viaduct is one of the many structures that make up the high-speed train corridor in Basque Country, Spain. The complexity of the project, due to mountainous terrain combined with tight deadlines, required technologically advanced products, response capacity, and material provisioning in strict accordance with the client’s demands.
ULMA solution
Due to the impossibility of using a movable falsework system for the 495 m deck with varied thickness, the engineering team chose to use a gantry falsework system with H-33 trusses, heavy-duty T-500 towers, and ENKOFORM H-120 formwork. These products provided the optimal performance to shore heavy loads at heights of more than 30 m with spans reaching up to 70 m between supports.
The solutions were designed so as to be able to reuse the systems for each section, even though the spans were not of the same length. This made it possible to complete the entire project with the same material from start to finish: 2400 tonnes of shoring, formwork, and trusses. The modular nature of the systems made it possible for them to adapt to the different dimensions required.
The stripping process was made as efficient as possible with a system of electric winches to remove the material. This method provides increased safety and efficiency of the operation, saving time while reducing personnel and auxiliary equipment.
The number of T-500 towers necessary was reduced by using the piers to support the nearby beams, so that no additional shoring was necessary in the adjacent area.
Continuous communication and collaboration with the client made it possible to use each product as efficiently as possible and guarantee safety. Safety, in fact, is built into every system we employ.
Given that the area is both logistically important and features complex terrain, open frame protective BRIO scaffolding was installed. Moreover, to avoid blocking traffic on the busy road underneath and prevent falling objects, the structure was designed so that that it could also function as a support for the formwork gangs during the stripping process.
