Dismantling of the Viaducts of the Sabino Arana Junction in Bilbao

Abstract

This article describes the dismantling works of the viaducts of the S. Arana junction in Bilbao. This link consisted of several juxtaposed prestressed concrete structures that connected the A-8 motorway with the city centre. Two different procedures were used to carry out the demolition. On the one hand, the lower decks were demolished span by span directly using backhoes equipped with hydraulic breakers, primary demolishers and demolition shears. The rest of the spans, either because of their greater height or because of their proximity to buildings or other sensitive infrastructures, were dismantled using a procedure consisting on diamond wire cutting by sections, hoisting with a heavy-duty lattice crane and supporting on the ground, where their demolition was completed using traditional mechanical equipment. These demolition works have served for recovering for neighbourhood use an area of more than 43,000 m², located close to the city centre.