An innovative road-bridge solution to give access to the future Zorrotzaurre Island in Bilbao (Spain)

摘要

This article is focused on the first of the bridges that will materialise the connection of the futurernZorrotzaurre Island in Bilbao (currently a peninsula) with the rest of the urban fabric. This bridgernwill clear the watercourse of the Deusto Canal, when completed, with a main span of 76.9 m and anrnaverage width of 28 m, carrying two 5-m-wide side pavements for pedestrians and cyclists and fourrn3.25-m-wide road lanes. Its innovative design concept combines two structural schemes: anrninverted Fink truss (it will be the first road bridge in the world of this type to be built) and a threespanrnvariable-height beam. This design (made of steel with a composite road deck) providesrntransparency and slenderness, fulfils the hydraulic requirements, has an accurate scale for an urbanrnbridge (the height of the main mast is 15.4 m) and serves as a tribute to the sequence of cranes andrntowers that once were plentiful in the area.