A worldwide benchmark test to test the resistance of the bridges that the 9 line of the TRAM will travel

La Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), a través del Instituto Universitario de Ciencia y Tecnología del Hormigón (ICITECH), está realizando las pruebas de fatiga de los puentes del Quisi y Ferrandet, de la Línea 9 (Benidorm-Dénia) del TRAM d’Alacant.

These tests aim to determine the fatigue resistance of these structures and their remaining life. The two viaducts were built in 1914 and have recently undergone a rehabilitation process by the Generalitat, within the renewal of the Calp-Teulada section.

This is a first level and world reference in the field of maintenance and conservation of Valencian civil engineering heritage, as it is one of the very few that has been carried out on a global scale. The study has the participation of the company CALSENS (spin-off of the UPV) and also with the collaboration of the University of Alicante.

It must be remembered that the Santa Ana viaduct over the Quisi ravine, in Benissa, is 168 meters long, with a substructure of two masonry abutments and five metal lattice piles. The board weighs 220 tons and the metal stacks 182 tons.

The Ferrandet, located in the Pou Roig ravine also in Benissa, has 126 meters in length and a maximum height of 27 meters. The platform is supported by two masonry abutments and three masonry piles.

The Minister of Housing, Public Works and Vertebration of the Territory, María José Salvador, explained that, once the fatigue tests have been completed, FGV «tiene previsto monitorizar estos dos puentes para disponer de información permanente y detallada del comportamiento de los materiales de su estructura y para garantizar la seguridad en la circulación, que es prioritaria».