Railway Bridge over the Este River – Replacement of the existing bridge without interruption of traffic

The railway project for the refurbishment of the Minho Line envisaged the duplication of the existing single track and the creation of three new tracks, two of the Braga Branch and one of the sack track of the Station, on the crossing of the River Este, close to the Nine Station. 
 
The existing bridge consisted of a metal deck of two full web beams supported by stonework abutments.
 
The new bridge was designed in reinforced concrete with a deck of three spans about 30 m wide and 37 m long, supported by pile pillars with a diameter of 1.2 m, equipped with an upper beam.
 
In order to keep the Minho Line in service during construction, the work was carried out in two phases:
1 – Execution of a strip of the deck, 7.0 m wide (downstream side), respective pile pillars and sections of the corresponding abutments. Given the proximity of the foundations to the current route, the embankments were contained.
2 – In the second phase, rail traffic was transferred to the new deck. The metal bridge was deactivated and demolished, proceeding with the execution of the remaining structure.

Project: 2000; Entry into service: 2004
Client:  WSAtkins ; Worker:  REFER