Llobregat highway: A highway that integrates the region
Llobregat axis (C16) between Sant Fruitós de Bages and Berga is the first Catalan highway financed with the shadow toll system. Under this type of public-private agreement the concessionaire assumes the risks of construction, operation, financing and traffic control. The Government repays the investment by charging vehicles that transit the highway.
279 million euros
Initial investment
34,7 million euros
share capital
28,4 million euros
Generalitat contribution
221,6 million euros
Debt
Works Executed
The route of new construction (Puig-Reig – Berga) has basically been separated from the Llobregat river and runs through the hills, which accounts for the number of viaducts required. The following are the main magnitudes:
21 km
of widening the existing road to a dual carriageway (Puig-Reig - Berga)
19 km
starting from scratch (Sant Fruitós de Bages - Puig-Reig)
9
new interchanges
16
new viaducts
4
tunnels and cut-and-covers (2,250 m)
Infrastructure in service
The significant capacity for social transformation of a European corridor like this makes local readjustment to the impact of a great long-distance infrastructure essential. The solution adopted is embodied in a 39-km dual carriageway section of the E-9 trans-European corridor with two lanes in each direction.
39 km
of highway
90
structures
58
retaining walls
4
tunnels and cut-and-covers
20
interchanges and semi-directional interchanges
Outstanding works
- Puig Reig viaduct: is a mixed section viaduct crosses the Llobregat river. The 568-metre-long bridge has 9 spans - the largest measuring 64 metres - and a maximum pier height of 43 metres. The curvilinear plan view and the existence of a vertical curve in the elevation view complicated the layout of the viaduct in the design engineering phase.
- T-verd®: a method for restoration and revegetation of embankments that enables integration of steep slopes. It consists of making a series of steps or terraces in the form of planters constructed with a geo-mesh laid down longitudinally supported by humus.
- Talud Royal® is a method of generating slopes fully integrated into the environment by harnessing the natural slope of the material of each stratum that emerges during excavation of the cutting and adapting to the natural fractures in the solid rock. The result is a slope of variable morphology in elevation view that simulates a natural slope.