Alcántara Viaduct (Spain), an arch with a 324 metre span to cross the Tajo

The construction of the Cañaveral-Alcántara Reservoir subsection crosses the River Tajo in an area where, due to the influence of the Alcántara reservoir, the river’s channel widens. To cross it this viaduct was designed, intended to be used by freight and passenger traffic with standard gauge double track and a subgrade 14 m wide. Known as the Alcántara Viaduct, it is 1,488 m long. It was designed with a central arch span measuring 324 m with a height above the average level of the river of more than 90 m, and once completed will become one of the arches of its kind with the longest span used for high-speed rail. Work on the track subgrade in this subsection was awarded in February 2011 to the consortium made up of Copisa and Sociedad Anónima de Obras y Servicios (Copasa) at a total cost of €64,850,200.