Upon completion this fall, the Almonte Viaduct in western Spain will hold the record for the longest high-speed-rail bridge arch span, according to the government. Despite this imminent high-profile success, however, Spanish civil construction spending remains at a fraction of what it was before the 2008 financial crisis.
The 3,268-ft-long Almonte Viaduct, located at the end of the Alcántara reservoir in the province of Cáceres in the west of Spain, is being developed by the state-owned Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias as part of a 3.9-mile subsection that includes four viaducts, two flyovers and one underpass. The $130-million contract was awarded to a consortium led by Spanish contractor FCC Construcción in 2010 for a 32-month construction period, which has been extended by 18 months already and has a projected completion in the first quarter of 2016, according to FCC.