The 25th of April Bridge (former Salazar Bridge) is a suspension bridge connecting the city of Lisbon, capital of Portugal, to the municipality of Almada on the left bank of the Tagus river. It was inaugurated on August 6, 1966 and a train platform was added in 1999. It is often compared to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA, due to their similarities and same construction company. With a total length of 2,277 m, it is the 17th largest suspension bridge in the world. The upper platform carries six car lanes, the lower platform two train tracks.
The bridge was built by the [American Bridge Company], part of the winning consortium, assisted by eleven local companies. The steel was imported from the USA. Upon completion the bridge had the longest suspended span and the longest main span in Continental Europe, the world's longest continuous truss, and the world's deepest bridge foundation. It was the fifth largest suspension bridge in the world, the largest outside the USA. Today it is the 17th largest suspension bridge in the world. The Bridge is based on the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge [SFOBB] near the [Golden Gate Bridge] in San Francisco, USA. Both SFOBB and the 25 de ABril Bridge were built by the same company. The American Society of Civil Engineers says that "Like its sister bridge, the SFOBB in San Francisco, the Tagus River Bridge is located in an area with a long history of earthquakes" and seismic data had to be taken into account in its construction. Another sister bridge is the [Forth Road Bridge] in Edinburgh.
Addapted from [Wikipedia].
Sunday, March 9, 2008
(Photo by Sailor Girl)