Ports projects. A look back over ACCIONA’s track record in maritime works

1. San Telmo bridge foundations in Seville

This project was the starting point for the Company's port works.

Reinforced concrete caissons were used built on dry land, transported by sea and buried into the earth via compressed air excavation to a depth of 18 m where suitable ground was found. With the foundation problem solved, the bridge was completed in 1930.

2. Drydock construction, Cadiz

This consists of reinforced concrete U-shaped caissons made by cutting the dock into perpendicular sections along the longitudinal axis, building them on dry land, anchoring them into the previously dredged bed of the basin, and filling with cyclopean concrete on the girder of the dock and sand in the caissons. Dredged material is planned to be put around the caissons due to construction on reclaimed land.
Overall dimensions are 245 m in length, 38 m in width and 10.5 m in depth. 14 heavily reinforced caissons measuring 53 m by 17 m by 6.5 m were used for construction with a girder width of 4.8 m.

3. Veracruz, Mexico drydock construction

In the 1980s, the Veracruz, Mexico drydock was built measuring 205 m long, 30 m wide and 7 m tall. The largest in the country at that time, it was built on land reclaimed from the sea.

4. Wharf No. 1 lengthening at the naval base in Rota, Cadiz

Completion: February 2010.

A 306.5 m long gravity wall aligned with the existing Wharf No. 1 at Rota was built along with an 80 m wide, 430 m long and 15 m deep docking pit. The wharf consists of reinforced concrete caissons.

5. Expansion of Escombreras Dock in Murcia, Phase 1

Completion: February 2004.

Construction of breakwaters and jetty that make up the new port area on the Mediterranean side. The works included the construction of an enclosure dike between Punta de los Aguilones and the Escombreras islet that surrounds it, a perimeter dike and a jetty parallel to the existing Bastarreche dike, thus creating a 70 hectare sheltered water surface area.

• The south dike measures 606.8 m long with a first section measuring 202.5 m, made up of a sloped wall and a second 404.3 m section consisting of reinforced concrete caissons.
• The perimeter dike consists of reinforced concrete caissons with a total length of 580.6 m.
• The southwest dike consists of reinforced concrete caissons measuring 29 m tall, 1,036 m long and depths between 22 and 50 m.

6. La Estaca Port expansion, Hierro Island, Canary Islands.

Completion: December 2004.

Expansion and improvement works at La Estaca Port include:

• Construction of a combination sloped wall and caisson dike measuring 165 m in length and another vertical extension measuring 213 m.
• Creation of a 1.5 hectare dock surface.
• Marina construction.
• Area development.
• Improvement and expansion of port access road.
• Exploitation of the Timijira quarry for material acquisition.

7. El Ferrol outer harbor expansion Phases 1 and 2. A Coruña.

Completion. Phase 1: June 2005.

Phase 2: September 2009.

Phase 1:

• The project covers 100 hectares with the Cabo Prioriño Chico jetty outside the El Ferrol Ria.
• The seawall is sloping and has a natural foundation. The outer protective layer consists of layers of 90 ton concrete blocks with a total thickness of 6.8 m.
• The wharf also serves as an enclosure. It consists of 30 reinforced concrete caissons with a 20 m depth.

Phase 2:

• 656 m extension with reinforced concrete caissons along the existing coastal wharf to complete the 1,515 m total length with a depth of 20 m.
• Construction of a 145 m long auxiliary multipurpose dock perpendicular to the coastal wharf constructed with caissons and concrete blocks.
• Development of adjacent dock surfaces.

8. Port infrastructure project outside Isla Verde. Phase 3. Step 1. Seawall. Algeciras Port. Cadiz.

Completion: 2009.

The free-standing seawall measures more than 2 km in length and was built using lightened reinforced concrete caissons supported on a bed of quarry materials. The design consists of a perpendicular section to the east, a 413 m separation from the dock and a depth ranging from 28 m in the southern end to 43 m in the northern.

The Kugira was used to build this seawall featuring the world's largest reinforced concrete caisson measuring 66.85 m in length, 24.6 m in width and 34 m in height.