On the 30th, the inauguration of the El Castro viaduct took place in Vega de Valcarce. The ceremony was presided over by the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Oscar Puente, with this complete commissioning of the new El Castro viaducts of the A-6, the connection between Galicia and Castilla y León is recovered.
The three lanes of the carriageway towards A Coruña and the second lane of the carriageway towards Madrid were opened to traffic, leaving the five lanes of the section of the highway located at km 430, in the area around the towns of Vega de Valcarce (León) and Pedrafita do Cebreiro (Lugo), fully operational.
In the direction of Madrid, a small viaduct has been built, with three spans and a length of just over 100 meters, together with another medium-sized viaduct, with eight spans and 303 meters long. One lane of the roadway in the direction of Madrid was put into service at the end of 2023, allowing traffic to be partially restored, after the construction of the small and medium-sized viaducts was completed in just seven months.
In the direction of A Coruña, a 14-span, 595-meter-long viaduct has been erected and is now fully open after having been completed in about eleven months.
The viaduct has steep slopes and transversal valleys, as well as a complex geology.
The Minister emphasized that the works are “a technical feat…which have been completed in record time thanks to the work of the companies contracted”.
The foundations include 15 kilometers of micropiles and 1.2 kilometers of one and a half meter diameter piles. Breakwaters up to 20 meters high were also constructed. The decks, totaling 1.5 kilometers, incorporate access tunnels for technicians and sensors that monitor the status in real time, in order to prevent problems such as those previously experienced.
These viaducts have been built in a terrain of difficult orography, with steep slopes and transversal valleys, in addition to a complex geology.
The Minister emphasized that the works are “a technical feat…which have been completed in record time thanks to the work of the contracted companies”.