Puente del Alamillo

Puente del Alamillo
The Alamillo Bridge at night
Coordinates
Carries	Motor vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles
Crosses	Guadalquivir river
Locale	Seville (Andalusia–Spain)
Preceded by	Pasarela de San Jerónimo
Followed by	Puente de la Barqueta
Characteristics
Design	Cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge
Total length	250 m
Height	140 m
History
Designer	Santiago Calatrava

File:Puente del Alamillo.jpg

The Puente del Alamillo, viewed from the left (east) side of the Guadalquivir river.

The Alamillo Bridge is a structure in Seville, Andalucia (Spain), which spans the Canal de Alfonso XIII, allowing access to La Cartuja, a peninsula between the canal and the Guadalquivir River. The bridge was constructed as part of infrastructure improvements for Expo 92, which was held on large banana farms on the island. Construction of the bridge began in 1989 and was completed in 1992 from a design by Santiago Calatrava.

The bridge is of the cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge type and consists of a single pylon, counterbalancing a 200 m span with thirteen lengths of cables. The original intent was to build two symmetrical bridges on either side of the island, but in the end, the Alamillo's singular design has proved most striking.

The Alamillo Bridge was built more as a monument rather than a piece of structural art. While the leaning mast is very suggestive that the bridge is solely supported by the cables, there is controversy that the deck is mostly self-supporting, since the tension in the cables seems lower than would be expected. To be a good example of structural art, the bridge must also be successful at structural engineering design. The Alamillo Bridge, however, lacks the principles of efficiency and economy.

With no economic constraints on construction, the goal was to create a bridge of symbolic importance. This bridge represented the soaring aspirations of the city of Seville in preparation for Expo '92, and is visible from the top of La Giralda, the former minaret which is the sentimental roof of the city, linking Seville's past and present. Similar to the Brooklyn Bridge, there is an elevated walkway for pedestrians. In addition to the elevated walkway, the Alamillo Bridge features a lookout at the top of the mast, accessible by an enclosed stairway.

The Puente del Alamillo is the only bridge that is balanced solely through added weights not requiring any type of back anchorage. There are 54 steel piles under the bridge but they act passively under the mast.

Calatrava's Sundial Bridge in Redding, California (2004), and Chords Bridge in Jerusalem are similar in design to the Alamillo Bridge.

See also

• Puente de la Mujer, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Samuel Beckett Bridge, Dublin, Ireland
• Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay, California, United States
• Puente de la Unidad, Monterrey, Mexico

External links

• Puente del Alamillo on en.broer.no
• Alamillo Bridge by Santiago Calatrava
• Alamillo Bridge Seville - Sevilla
• Puente del Alamillo in Factoría Urbana: Photos and technical information about the bridge
• Alamillo Bridge at Structurae
• Alamillo Bridge - WikiArquitectura