Castilla–La Mancha Bridge

Castilla–La Mancha Bridge

Puente de Castilla-La Mancha
Coordinates39°57′2″N 4°48′22″W / 39.95056°N 4.80611°W / 39.95056; -4.80611
Carries2 lanes of motor vehicles on each side
CrossesTagus
LocaleTalavera de la Reina, Spain
Preceded byPuente de la TO-1262
Followed byPuente del Príncipe
Characteristics
DesignCable-stayed bridge
Total length730 m
Width43.50 m[1]
Height192 m
Longest span318 m[1]
History
ArchitectFrancisco Sánchez de León
Engineering design byRamón Sánchez de León
Constructed bySacyr, Aglomancha and J. Bárcenas
Opened17 October 2011
Location
Map

The Castilla–La Mancha Bridge (Spanish: Puente de Castilla-La Mancha) is a cable-stayed bridge in Talavera de la Reina, Spain.

History and description

Promoted by the Regional Government of Castile-La Mancha,[2] the foundation stone was laid in November 2007.[3] It was opened on 17 October 2011.[3] The building companies were Sacyr, Aglomancha and J. Bárcenas.[2]

Standing 192 m high, it was the tallest cable-stayed bridge in Spain upon the time of its inauguration.[4] It features 152 wire ropes.[2]

With a total cost of nearly €74M, it was widely considered a waste of money in the media.[4] With the opening of the so-called Variante Suroeste of the N-502 [es] in March 2015, the bridge—via the Ronda del Tajo—is expected to finally help to drive the heavy-duty vehicle traffic out of the city center.[5]

As the bridge carried little traffic, it was often referred to as "the bridge to nowhere."[4][6] While it is strictly prohibited, since 2016, multiple incidents related to illegal climbers have been reported.[7] On October 13, 2024, a 26-year-old English man died after while attempting to climb the bridge. The deceased was accompanied by a 24-year-old compatriot, both had reportedly traveled to Talavera to create content for social media.[8]

In the third decade of the 21st century, it was often used as a drinking place or a place for illegal automobile racing.[6]

References

Citations
  1. ^ a b "Castilla La Mancha Bridge Staying Process". Mc2 Estudio de Ingeniería.
  2. ^ a b c Santacruz Sánchez de Rojas 2016, p. 356.
  3. ^ a b Berenguer, Rafa (28 April 2018). "La variante sur de Talavera, atascada en la Plaza del Pan". Ahora CLM.
  4. ^ a b c Simón, Pedro (28 September 2014). "Un puente a ningún sitio". El Mundo (Spain) (in Spanish).
  5. ^ "Fomento abrió ayer al tráfico sin inauguración la Variante Suroeste". La Tribuna de Toledo. 31 March 2015.
  6. ^ a b Curiel, María (9 October 2024). "El puente más alto de España no lleva a ninguna parte: «Lo usan los chavales para carreras ilegales»". El Debate (Spain) (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 October 2024. muchísima gente se iba allí a hacer botellón. Ahora, aun estando abiertas las discotecas, la gente va allí a beber porque es un sitio que está apartado, en el que prácticamente no pasan coches
  7. ^ "¡Temerarias blogueras desafían la suerte al escalar el puente atirantado de Talavera sin protección!". Cover. 16 November 2023."Dos jóvenes escalan sin protección el puente atirantado de Talavera". elDiario. 6 January 2016."Vuelven a escalar el puente atirantado de Talavera". La Tribuna de Ciudad Real. 29 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Fallece un joven de 26 años al caerse del puente de Castilla-La Mancha". Ayuntamiento de Talavera. 12 October 2024."British man dies after falling from Spanish bridge". BBC News. 14 October 2024.
Bibliography