Underground pedestrian crossing in Meliana

The project consists of the construction of a pedestrian underpass under the railway tracks of the FGV Line 3 that runs through the town of Meliana, specifically at the 7+497 km point of the same, in order to make this linear infrastructure that crosses the town of Meliana more permeable.

A prefabricated reinforced concrete caisson will be built underneath the tracks, which will be accessed by stairs and lifts from two lateral shafts. In addition, other complementary works will be carried out, such as the modification of the enclosure of the railway reserve on the south-west side, moving it 3 metres away from the current one over a length of 83 metres, and the urbanisation works around the accesses, in conjunction with those planned or carried out by the Town Council.

The works will be carried out by excavating a sloping trench for placing the frames, constructing a reinforced in-situ slab to support the prefabricated frames, which will ensure correct levelling during assembly and distribution of loads to the foundations, assembling the frames by crane, external waterproofing of the joints and waterproofing.

A box perpendicular to the tracks, 10.5 m long and 5.25 m wide, connects the two sides by means of stairs and lifts. The stairs, with a clear width of 1.80 m, a tread of 30 cm and a riser of 16 cm, are made up of two perpendicular sections with an intermediate landing. There are rainwater gutters on both sides of the staircase and at the foot of the staircase. The lift on each side of the passage, with a 90º entrance and exit, is attached to the enclosure wall of the railway corridor and to each flight of stairs in the space between these elements. The perimeter of the shaft for the location of the stairs and the lift is formed, at street level, by two straight lines of 5.77 m. and a circular arc of 4.28 m. radius. The enclosure between the gutter and the perimeter of the shaft at street level is resolved by a warped surface defined between the two.

The underpass has been designed to be accessible to people with reduced mobility, with electric lifts with a capacity of 1250 kg (16 people) at the entrances. The size of these lifts (1.4 x 2.0m) will also allow them to be used with bicycles. In order to improve security, both for the use of the lifts themselves and against possible criminal acts, these lifts will have an internal camera and a link to both the local police and the maintenance company, which will include the possibility of a video call and automatic breakdown or emergency alerts.

On the south-western side of the passageway, the staircase and lift will be located on Calle Isabel de Villena, at a distance of 3 metres from the current road enclosure, in anticipation of a future extension of the same. Access to the staircase and lift will be from the south. On the north-east side, the staircase and lift are located between the road wall and Valencia Street. Access to the stairs and lift is from the north.