The viaduct of Line 4 of Santiago's subway: its conception and design

Abstract

This paper describes the development of the project designared as Line 4 of the Santiago's subway, which includes the construction of a new railway fine with 32.4 kilometers of longirude, consisting of underground, surface and elevared tracks in the city of Santiago, Chile. The design of the viaduct has been based on the intensive use of interlocking prefabricared structures (segmenta/ bridges), with the purpose of minimizing the impact- regarding time and space - that this type of project usual/y generares on che roadways surrounding its layout. In addition, this project has achieved an architectural design of slender forms and soft and rounded fines, in harmony with the surroundings. The design of the viaduct is characrerized by a •u• type superstructure, which is built with interlocking prefabricated segments (segmenta/ bridges). This method is quite usual in developed countries but is applied for the fiiSC time on a viaduct in Chile. Another impottant issue addressed in this project has been the seismic alalysis of the area. To perform this study, a design spectrum was croared based on four seismic movements that affocted Santiago in the past.