Pilar Crespo Rodríguez

Jefe de Servicio de Estudios Especiales

Dirección General de Carreteras

Ministerio de Fomento

Juan Blanco Suárez

Jefe de Servicio de Proyectos y Obras

Demarcación de Carreteras del Estado en Asturias

Ministerio de Fomento

Juan Manuel Mieres

Director del Departamento de I+D+i

Grupo Nexo

Road bridge made of carbon fibre composites

In May 2003, the Spanish Ministry for Public Works approved the construction of an overpass to the Cantabric highway, in the Asturias Autonomous Region of Northern Spain, made of carbon fibre composites. The 46 m long overpass should be open to traffic in April 2004. This meant that the structure would have to be designed and built in less than a year. The bridge was designed and constructed by the R&D+I Department of NECSO Entrecanales Cubiertas. This structure will be a reference for future projects in Spain, given that the composite materials are increasingly being employed in different countries for the erection of bridges and other major civil work projects.

KEYWORDS

Carbon fiber, Glass fiber, Bridge, Composites, Polymers.