Cádiz overhead line masts
The Cádiz overhead line masts are two tall overhead line masts in Cádiz and Puerto Real in Spain . They carry two three-phase circuits for 132 kV across the Bay of Cádiz and run part of the overhead line from the Puerto Real substation to the Térmica substation (once also a power station) on the Cádiz peninsula.
The two 160 m high towers were designed by the Italian engineer Alberto Toscano and have an unusual structure. Each mast is a hollow structure that resembles a truncated cone . This tapers from a diameter of 20.7 m at the bottom to a diameter of 6 m at the height of the traverse . The towers stand on reinforced concrete foundations and carry trusses with a rhomboid cross-section on their tops . The towers are made of galvanized steel parts that are held together by a network of diagonal beams. On the inside of the steel structure, a helical staircase leads in nine turns to the cross members. The construction is characterized by its aesthetics and functionality . In this respect, the towers are similar to the Eiffel Tower in Paris .
The overhead line across the Bay of Cadiz was built between 1957 and 1960. The unconventional construction of the overhead line masts was chosen because the Spanish steelworks at that time were unable to produce long steel girders and the import of such girders was impossible because of the Francisco Franco regime . The construction was carried out under the direction of Remo Scalla, a close friend of Alberto Toscano. Toscano and Scalla also built the power line crossing of the Strait of Messina in 1956/57 .
Hyperboloid masts of a similar design were realized in 1929 by Vladimir Schuchow for an overhead line crossing of the Oka near Nizhny Novgorod in Russia.
It is noteworthy that, despite the enormous height of the line above the Bay of Cádiz and the associated risk of lightning strikes, no earth wire is used.
- Coordinates of the Puntales mast: 36 ° 30 ′ 30 ″ N , 6 ° 15 ′ 44 ″ W
- Coordinates of the Matagorda mast: 36 ° 31 ′ 8 ″ N , 6 ° 14 ′ 57 ″ W
- Distance: 1655 meters.
Map with all coordinates: