Civil Engineering students visit the works of the Centennial Bridge in Seville

Students of the Degree in Civil Engineering and the Master in Engineering of Roads, Canals and Ports of the University of Seville made last Monday a technical visit to the expansion works of the Centennial Bridge, one of the key infrastructure in the city's metropolitan area.

The activity, organized for academic purposes, was attended by students from the subjects “General Construction Procedures” (3rd course of the degree) and “Special Construction Procedures” (2nd course of the Master). They were accompanied by professors Antonio Cerrato and Marcelo Villena. The visit was coordinated by Rafael Pérez Arenas , Doctor Engineer of Roads, Channels and Ports, former director of the works and professor of both subjects until their retirement in 2023.

The Higher Technical School of Engineering (ETSI) financed bus displacement as part of its program to support academic activities.

During the visit, the students received a detailed technical explanation about the constructive process and the current state of the works by Pablo Álvarez de Cienfuegos , Head of the Technical Office of ACCIONA in the project, and Óscar Alonso Álvarez , Head of the Unit of Technical Assistance to the Work Management. José Luis Arranz, construction director, was also present.

Among the outstanding elements of the visit, students were able to observe the Dovela 0 on the Cádiz side, suspended by heavy-lifting cats located on the Pilono 14, which was in the process of welding to the bridge. This dovela will be subsequently connected by eight straps to the metal expansion of the pylon. Once this phase is finished, a lifting car will be installed with a pitcher to raise the following dovelas. In addition, students could see several key components of the work, such as lifting cars, the braces already collected in the work zone, and concrete cars used to execute the side beams.

The visit offered a valuable opportunity for future engineers to know firsthand the technical and organizational complexity of a great infrastructure in execution.