San Patricio Bridge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids San Patricio Bridge |
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| Locale | La Barca de la Florida, Spain |
The San Patricio bridge is a very important bridge in La Barca de la Florida, Spain. People often call it the Tempul aqueduct bridge or the La Barca aqueduct. This bridge helps the Tempul aqueduct cross over the River Guadalete. The aqueduct carries water, so the bridge is like a strong support for it.
The famous engineer Eduardo Torroja designed this bridge in 1925. Another engineer, Francisco Ruiz Martínez, oversaw its building. It was one of the first times a special type of concrete, called prestressed concrete, was used in Spain. When it was finished, it was the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world, stretching 57 meters! A cable-stayed bridge uses strong cables connected to tall towers to hold up the bridge deck.
History
Engineers first planned for the aqueduct to cross the river using 14 support pillars. Two of these pillars would have stood right in the river. This worried them because strong floods could damage the pillars and the whole structure.
So, Eduardo Torroja, the main designer, came up with a clever solution. He decided to remove the two pillars from the river. Instead, he designed a central section for the bridge. This section had two parts that stuck out 20 meters each. A smaller 17-meter section connected these two parts in the middle.
To hold up these sticking-out parts, Torroja used strong steel cables. These cables were 63 millimeters thick. They stretched from the bridge deck up to tall pillars, like giant ropes holding the bridge up.
To make the cables super strong, they used a special trick. They lifted the top part of the pillars with powerful jacks. This pulled the cables very tight. It made the bridge strong enough to carry its own weight and the water in the aqueduct.
Torroja himself shared an exciting story about the bridge's construction. Soon after they poured the concrete, the river started to flood! The rising water threatened the new structure. They waited until the concrete was strong enough. Then, they quickly used the jacks to lift the bridge about 25 centimeters. This also raised the main section by 5 centimeters. Even though the wooden supports were washed away by the flood, the bridge was saved! It was completed in January 1927.
See also
In Spanish: Puente de San Patricio para niños
