The Ponte metálica de Fão is a bridge in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
at
Fão. It is located in
Braga District
The district of Braga ( pt, Distrito de Braga ) is a district in the northwest of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Braga, and it is bordered by the district of Viana do Castelo in the north, Vila Real in the east, Spain ( Galicia) ...
, crossing the
Cávado River
The Cávado River ( pt, rio Cávado; ) is a river located in northern Portugal.
It has its source in Serra do Larouco at an elevation of above sea level. It runs from Fonte da Pipa, near the triangulation station Larouco, to its mouth into th ...
, on the EN 13 (National Road 13 -
Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
-
Valença). It connects
Fão to
Esposende
Esposende () is a city and a municipality in Braga District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 34,254, in an area of 95.41 km². The city itself (the parish Esposende, Marinhas e Gandra) had a population of 9,197 in 2001. It gained city ...
.
History
The bridge was designed by Abel Maria da Mota, built by Empresa Industrial Portuguesa of Lisbon, between 1889 and 1892. The field works were supervised by M. Reynaud. The inauguration took place on August 7, 1892, and was named Luis Filipe Bridge in honor of the then
Prince Royal of Portugal
Prince Royal (Portuguese: ''Príncipe Real'') was the title held by the heir apparent or the heir presumptive to the throne of the Kingdom of Portugal, from 1825 to 1910.
The eldest son of the Prince Royal held the title of Prince of Beira.
Hi ...
. Fão bridge was classified has a Public Interest Building on January 3, 1986.
[Manuel Albino Penteado Neiva Esposende: páginas de memórias - 1991 "A Ponte Metálica de Fão, considerada como o único exemplar, em Esposende, da Arquitectura Industrial, foi classificada como Imóvel de Interesse Público por Decreto do Governo, n9 1 de 3 de Janeiro de ... Chamava-se Abel Maria Mota.(sic)] The bridge underwent major restoration and reinforcement works in 2005–2006.
Characteristics
The bridge has a cast iron
Brown truss
A Brown truss is a type of bridge truss, used in covered bridges. It is noted for its economical use of materials and is named after the inventor, Josiah Brown Jr., of Buffalo, New York, who patented it July 7, 1857, as US patent 17,722.
Descri ...
type structure, with twelve panels and lies supported by 7 rectangular pillars of masonry and granite stonework buried 15 m deep. The total length of 267 m
See also
*
List of bridges in Portugal
This list of bridges in Portugal lists bridges of particular historical, scenic, architectural or engineering interest. Road and railway bridges, viaducts, aqueducts and footbridges are included.
Historical and architectural interest bridges
...
References
Fao
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
Bridges over the Cávado River
Esposende
Listed bridges in Portugal
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