Puente La Amistad de Taiwán (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: "Taiwan Friendship Bridge") spans the

Tempisque River The Tempisque River, or Río Tempisque, is long, located entirely in Costa Rica flowing from the Guanacaste Cordillera near the Orosí Volcano and emptying into the Gulf of Nicoya. It passes through the Palo Verde National Park and is an impor ...

, on National Route 18, in Guanacaste, northern

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. Although generally known as a

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern o ...

, it is really a hybrid bridge composed of a cable-stayed span and a pillar-supported bridge. The cable-stayed section has two spans of 170 and 90 metres, supported by an 80-metre-high pylon. The total length of the bridge is 780 metres with eight supporting pillars and the pylon. The bridge was completed in 2003. The bridge was financed and designed by

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

and built primarily by the Taiwanese company MAA, with participation of Costa Rican engineers and workers. It has a particular importance for the province of Guanacaste for it facilitates transit from the capital city of San José. Prior to the construction of the bridge, this route required the use of ferries to cross the

, or long alternate land routes. Recent Costa Rican studies have found some problems in the structure that have required increased maintenance. The bridge has been known colloquially as ''Puente de la Apuñalada'' (Back stab Bridge) since former Costa Rican President

Óscar Arias Óscar Arias Sánchez (; born 13 September 1940 in Heredia, Costa Rica) is a Costa Rican activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He was President of Costa Rica from 1986 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2010. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 198 ...

cut off relations with Taiwan in favour of China. Puente La Amistad was damaged on 5 September 2012 by the 2012 Costa Rica earthquake.Two dead, dozens injured following powerful quake in Costa Rica
''The Tico Times'', 5 September 2012.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Puente La Amistad de Taiwan Bridges in Costa Rica Cable-stayed bridges Bridges completed in 2003 Buildings and structures in Guanacaste Province