Seville is going to have the longest road bridge in Spain and, most likely, the largest in all of Europe. The most interesting thing of all is that the project already has an official green light and until approved budget. What is missing, as usually happens in these macroprojects, is time.
Decades without solution. The SE-40 ring road has been a pending issue in Seville for years. Of the 75 kilometers planned, only 38 are in service today. The section that was missing (and that was the most difficult) is precisely the one that must cross the Guadalquivir to the southwest of the city, between Dos Hermanas and Coria del Río.
As long as this situation continues, traffic continues to be diverted to the SE-30, a road where traffic accumulates daily and for which the SE-40 was born, precisely, as a solution.
It took a while to start. For almost two decades, the project has been paralyzed because no agreement was reached on whether to opt for a subfluvial tunnel through the Guadalquivir or build a bridge. The tunnel option ended up being discarded due to its enormous technical difficulty and exorbitant cost. Furthermore, according to point El Confidencial, the failure of that plan left consequences such as a tunnel boring machine valued at 37 million euros that was stored unused for more than a decade and ended up being sold for just 1.8 million.
So the Ministry of Transportation ended up opting for the bridge solution, approving the project last November. The bridge traces the Dos Hermanas–Palomares–Coria del Río section, is 5,069 kilometers long and has an estimated budget of 688.11 million euros (VAT included).
ORn pillarless cable-stayed bridge across the river. Perhaps the most outstanding element of the complex is a cable-stayed bridge whose central span, 366 meters of lightwill avoid the Guadalquivir without supporting any pile within the channel. This decision aims to protect the riverside vegetation and the Special Conservation Area of the Bajo Guadalquivir, also guaranteeing that large boats can cross it. The total of viaducts add up to approximately 3.5 kilometers in length.
A record gauge. The minimum vertical clearance over the river is 70.80 meters. It was a figure required by the Port Authority of Seville so that the bridge does not interfere with maritime traffic towards the river port. According to the newspaperthe current European champion in vertical clearance is the Puente de la Constitución of 1812, in the Bay of Cádiz, with 69 meters. This new bridge aims to surpass it, which would place it among the bridges with the largest clearance on the entire continent.
ANDThe longest road viaduct in Spain. The Constitution Bridge of 1812, known as the La Pepa Bridge, measures 3,092 meters and has held the national length record since its inauguration in 2015. The set of viaducts on the SE-40 will total approximately 3.5 kilometers, according to collect The Vanguard. Two records in one.
When can it be used? There is still no official date for the start of works or opening to traffic. According to the mediathe Government’s forecasts suggest that the works could last until 2030 or 2031. El Diario points out that the tender for the central structure of the bridge would not take place before January 2027. To give context, the Pepa bridge took about eight years to build, so it looks like there is still some distance left.
When the southern arch of the SE-40 is closed, several key highways will be connected (A-4, A-92, A-376, A-8058 and A-49) that today do not have a direct link to each other in the south of Seville. It remains to be seen how the project progresses.
Cover image | Recreation of the Ministry of Transportation (climbing with Upscayl)
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