Arrábida Bridge
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Arrábida Bridge is an arch bridge of reinforced concrete which carries six lanes of traffic over the
Douro River The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...
, between
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 ...
and
Vila Nova de Gaia Vila Nova de Gaia (; cel-x-proto, Cale), or simply Gaia, is a city and a municipality in Porto District in Norte Region, Portugal. It is located south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper had a population ...
, in the Norte region of
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 ...
.


History

In March 1952, a preliminary project for a roadway bridge was adjudicated to Professor Edgar António Mesquita Cardoso, by the JAE. It was approved in 1955. The construction of the bridge proceeded in May 1957. By decree 42/234, dated 22 April 1959, the ''Ministério das Obras Públicas'' (''Public Works Ministry'') promoted, through their respective City Councils, the construction of modest dwellings for the accommodation of families who needed to be demolished, as a result of the construction of access to the bridge. By 22 June 1963, the bridge was concluded and inaugurated. At the time of its completion, the bridge's main span of was the largest of any concrete-arch bridge in the world. In the 1990s, the elevators on the bridge were deactivated. A process to classify the bridge began on 16 February 2011. An announcement was issued on 18 September 2012 (13409/2012) on the project to classify the bridge as a ''Monumento Nacional'' (''National Monument''), establishing its respective Special protection Zone. On 24 June 2016, a tourist experience that allowed pedestrians to walk across the archway, an idea of Pedro Pardinhas, who invested 50,000 euros and safety equipment and transformation of a small annex as the reception hall for "Porto Bridge Climb".


Architecture

The bridge is isolated over the Douro river, supported over the northern margin along the Arrábida escarpment and along the southern margin at ravine in the area of Candal. It is implanted downstream from the D. Luís Bridge, and is the closest to the mouth of the Douro River, establishing a connection between the IC1 (in Vila Nova de Gaia) and Porto beltway (VCI). The structure is an iron, archway bridge, constructed of reinforced concrete, asphalt deck. The deck is supported by a dual archway, united by corner narrow elements in concrete crosses. There are 76 pillars, with the largest four located near the main supports, near the massive rectangular columns, with smaller pillars regularly spaced along the exterior surfaces. These larger columns have elevators that link the deck level to the marginal roadway along the Douro. The elevator volumes, facing the interior of the bridge, include addorsed sculptures. The deck includes six lines of traffic for vehicular traffic (part of the
European route E01 European route E1 is a series of roads in Europe, part of the United Nations International E-road network, running from Larne, Northern Ireland to Seville, Spain. There is a sea crossing between Rosslare Harbour, in Ireland, and Ferrol, but ...
system) and two narrower lines for pedestrian passage. The total length of the deck is with a width of The arch has a rise of , and the maximum clearance above river level is above the Douro. The cost of construction was 126 million
escudos The escudo ( Portuguese: 'shield') is a unit of currency historically used in Portugal and its colonies in South America, Asia, and Africa. It was originally worth 16 silver . The Cape Verdean escudo and the former Portuguese escudo (PTE), eac ...
.


References


Notes


Sources

* * * * * *


External links


Arrábida Bridge on bridge-info.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arrabida Bridge Bridges over the Douro River Bridges in Porto Bridges completed in 1963 Deck arch bridges Concrete bridges National monuments in Porto District Listed bridges in Portugal