Puente Transbordador (also known as Buenos Aires Transporter Bridge, Puente Transbordador de La BocaTodos Buenos Aires

Puente Transbordador de La Boca
', visited 2009-06-14 Puente Transbordador Nicolás Avellaneda, Antiguo Puente Nicolás Avellaneda or Transbordador del Riachuelo ) is a

transporter bridge A transporter bridge, also known as a ferry bridge or aerial transfer bridge, is a type of movable bridge that carries a segment of roadway across a river. The gondola is slung from a tall span by wires or a metal frame. The design has been use ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. The bridge was in use from its completion in 1914 until 1960, when operation ceased until 2017. Since 1999 the bridge is a

National Historic Monument of Argentina The National Historic Monuments of Argentina are buildings, sites and features in Argentina listed by national decree as historic sites. This designation encourages greater protection under the oversight of the ''Comisión Nacional de Museos, Mo ...

. The transporter bridge was the first link to connect

with the outskirts on the other side of the

Riachuelo River The River The Matanza River is known by several names, including, in Spanish, Río de la Matanza ("the slaughter river" in English), Río Matanza ("slaughter river"), Río Mataderos ("slaughterhouses river"), Río de la Manzana ("the apple rive ...

. The bridge links the Avenida La Plata in the neighbourhood Island Maciel of

Dock Sud Dock Sud is a town of Avellaneda Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It forms part of the urban agglomeration of Greater Buenos Aires. The area is characterized by its predominantly working-class background, with many of its inhabita ...

with Avenida Almirante Brown in the

La Boca La Boca (; "the Mouth", probably of the Matanza River) is a neighborhood (''barrio'') of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. It retains a strong Italian flavour, many of its early settlers having originated in the city of Genoa. Geography L ...

neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The name of the bridge refers to

Nicolás Avellaneda Nicolás Remigio Aurelio Avellaneda Silva (3 October 1837 – 24 November 1885) was an Argentine politician and journalist, and President of Argentina from 1874 to 1880. Avellaneda's main projects while in office were banking and education ...

, a former president of Argentina, who also gave the name to the

Avellaneda Partido Avellaneda is a partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It has an area of and a population of 663,953 in 2001. Its administrative seat is the city of Avellaneda. The partido is located in the Greater Buenos Aires urban area, separated fro ...

on the right bank of the river. The platform of the transporter bridge measured 8 by 12 metres and could be operated from a control stand on itself or from the machine house. It was designed to carry pedestrians, carts, cars and trams.

History

On September 25, 1908 the

Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway The Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway (BAGS) ( es, Ferrocarril del Sud) was one of the ''Big Four'' Indian gauge, broad gauge, , British-owned companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. The company was founded by Edward ...

was authorised to build a transporter bridge uniting the city of Buenos Aires with

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

south of the

. Buenos Aires Province bore all the costs of the bridge despite it also serving the Argentinian capital. The transporter bridge was inaugurated May 31, 1914 and operated until 1960. The Puente Nicolás Avellaneda road bridge (just 100 metres away), was constructed in 1940. In 1997, plans were announced to restore the bridge at a cost of US$1.2 million.Clarin.com
1997-11-29:

' The bridge was slated to resume operation on Thursday 28 September 2017.Clarin.com
2017-09-25:

' In September 2017, the bridge was finally restored and reopened to the public for the first time in 57 years.

Gallery

File:Construcc puente avellaneda.jpg, Bridge under construction, 1913. File:Buenos Aires - Puente Transbordador Nicolás Avellaneda en 1932.jpg, Gondola carrying passengers and cars, 1932. File:Horacio Coppola - Buenos Aires 1936 - Riachuelo desde la Vuelta de Rocha.jpg, View from Vuelta de Rocha, 1936. File:Horacio Coppola - Buenos Aires 1936 - Transbordador Nicolás Avellaneda.jpg, People boarding, 1936. File:Puente avellaneda 1951.jpg, Bridge operating in 1951. File:Transbordador Avellaneda Pueyrredón.jpg, The Nuevo Puente Pueyrredón behind the Transbordador, 2011. File:Buenos Aires - La Boca - Transbordador Nicolás Avellaneda - 20071225a.jpg, The bridge at night, 2007. File:Transbordador Nicolás Avellaneda.jpg, The restored bridge, 2017

References

External links

*
Puente Transbordador de La Boca
i
Todos Buenos Aires

Transbordador del Riachuelo
on the official site o
Buenos Aires Government

Puente Transbordador de La Boca historical photos
{{coord, 34.638319, S, 58.356312, W, type:landmark, display=title Transporter bridges Bridges in Argentina Bridges completed in 1914