Optimisation of the opening and closing manoeuvre of the José León de Carranza bridge

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Optimisation of the opening and closing manoeuvre of the José León de Carranza bridge

From its inauguration in 1969 to the present day, the José León de Carranza Bridge represents a milestone in the economic and social development that facilitates and dynamises the communication of Cádiz with the rest of the peninsula. When it was designed, it was conceived as a drawbridge, equipped with a central movable span, which would allow the continuity of maritime traffic in the Bay of Cadiz. Recently, we have modernised the electrical and control system that governs this manoeuvre, with the aim of optimising its overall operation.

 

The reform of the engineering and control logic allows correcting and improving the execution of the manoeuvre, considering parameters such as opening and closing time, speed, among others. A system based on the integral redundancy method so that any failure does not prevent the correct development of the manoeuvres in question.

For three nights, we have carried out the implementation tests of the new system, which has been previously developed in our offices, with the execution of several simulations until the start-up.

 

The entire control and supervision of the system is carried out from the control console located in the central tower. The control sequence, in addition to all the machinery necessary for the movement of the tilting sections, also supervises and controls the road safety barriers, warning lights, lights for ship traffic control and safety during the entire manoeuvre. Each half-span is opened simultaneously in just three minutes. The entire operation of opening and closing the bridge does not take more than 15 minutes, as the entire infrastructure must be mobilised beforehand.