Both sides of the 390-meter central span of the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway cable-stayed bridge were recently joined together successfully by the Cebu Link Joint Venture (CLJV), a consortium consisting of ACCIONA, First Balfour, and DMCI.
The project, awarded in 2017 by the Cebu Cordova Link Expressway Corporation (CCLEC), a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways (MPTC), consists of the design and construction of a 650-meter cable-stayed bridge as the principal structure, with a main span of 390 meters between pylons, located over the entrance to the Port of Cebu. This new infrastructure includes several viaducts and a section of highway on a 5.2-kilometer embankment.
Construction began in July 2018, after the client's design approval, and lasted until September 2021, creating more than 2,500 direct and indirect jobs in the area.
Due to its construction's technical and logistical complexity, ACCIONA and the joint venture partners carried out most of the work on a self-performing basis.
The bridge's deck was constructed using a special "Underslung form-Traveler," designed, and assembled using the latest technology, enabling complete sections of up to 7.15 meters long to be installed.
The foundations of the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX), designed and constructed to withstand extreme natural phenomena such as earthquakes, typhoons, or tsunamis, are up to 60 meters deep and were built with concrete piles in the seabed and coordinated by ACCIONA.
More than 150,000 m3 of concrete, 31,000 tons of Grade-75 steel, and 965 tons of active steel for the cables and columns were used in its construction.
In addition, a launching gantry designed and manufactured by ACCIONA was used to construct the access viaducts to the main bridge.
The operation of the bridge will bring numerous benefits to traffic management in the region, alleviating the congestion currently suffered on the existing bridges by connecting Cebu City with Mactan Island via Cordova and provide a faster connection between Cebu's industrial zone and Mactan International Airport and Cordova's new urban developments on the island, becoming a core communications route that will boost the local economy.
ACCIONA has constructed more than 600 bridges of all types and technical complexity, including some of the most iconic in the world, such as the Ting Kau Bridge in Hong Kong; the Walterdale and Beauharnois bridges in Canada; the bridge over the Clarence River in Harwood (Australia); the bridge over Roskilde Fjord in Denmark, and the Sant Boi bridge on the Madrid–Barcelona high-speed railway line.
