FGV carries out load tests on the new Algar and Mascarat viaducts
The tests have shown that the passage of dual trains through the new infrastructure can be carried out without any problem.
Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV) has successfully completed the load tests on the new viaducts over the Algar and Mascarat rivers which carry Line 9 of the TRAM d’Alacant network running between Benidorm and Dénia. These tests, in which dual trains (electric-diesel) have crossed the new infrastructure, have confirmed that the construction project has been completed correctly and is suitable for rail traffic.
The new viaducts over the Algar and Mascarat rivers have been built for around 15 million euros and have been financed by the European Union. Once the renovation works on the Algar and Mascarat viaducts have been completed and the various necessary technical tests have been completed, the dual units will be able to run along Line 9 between Benidorm and Dénia at the beginning of 2025, without passengers having to make any type of transfer, thus bringing an end to the comprehensive renovation of Line 9 initiated in 2014 by the Generalitat Valenciana.
The project carried out over the River Algar consisted of the construction of a bridge parallel to the existing one, which was built between 1913 and 1915 and which will be converted for use as a pedestrian walkway, as established in the Property of Local Relevance cataloging sheet.
The work included the construction of a viaduct with a concrete slab, the deck of which has a length of 226 metres. The surface of the new viaduct is made up of a solid concrete slab with a total width of six metres.
In order to favour the landscape integration of the new viaduct with respect to the old one, the piers have been arranged in the same sections as the existing ones and the height of the new deck has been sought to be as similar as possible to that of the current viaduct.
The new Mascarat viaduct is a straight-axis steel structure, weighing 114,000 kilograms and with a total length of 43.20 m, spanning the ravine with a single isostatic span and with the same characteristics as the original deck (PRATT-type steel structure).
In addition, the Mascarat project has included the replacement of the current superstructure of the railway platform on ballast with slab track along the entire route (approximately 1.5 km), protection and the execution of 12,475 sqm of slope surface using reinforced triple torsion meshes, along the three tunnels that the TRAM d’Alacant passes through in this area.
These works have forced FGV to partially suspend services since last April, offering an alternative bus service between Olla Altea and Calp.
