The Arrábida Bridge is an arch bridge of reinforced concrete which carries six lanes of traffic over the Douro River, between Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia, in the Norte region of Portugal.
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 270 metres (890 ft) 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 system) and two narrower lines for pedestrian passage.
The total length of the deck is 493.2 metres (1,618 ft)
with a width of 26.5 metres (87 ft) The arch has a rise of 52
metres (171 ft), and the maximum clearance above river level
is 70 metres (230 ft) above the Douro. The cost of
construction was 126 million escudos.
References
Sources
- MOP, ed. (1957) [1956], Relatório da Actividade do
Ministério no ano de (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal:
Ministério das Obras Públicas
- MOP, ed. (1959) [1958], Relatório da Actividade do
Ministério nos anos de (in Portuguese), 1, Lisbon,
Portugal: Ministério das Obras Públicas
- MOP, ed. (1960) [1959], Relatório da Actividade do
Ministério nos Anos de (in Portuguese), 1/2, Lisbon,
Portugal: Ministério das Obras Públicas
- MOP, ed. (1962) [1961], Relatório da Actividade do
Ministério no Ano de (in Portuguese), 1/2, Lisbon,
Portugal: Ministério das Obras Públicas
- MOP, ed. (1963) [1962], Relatório da Actividade do
Ministério no Ano de (in Portuguese), 1/2, Lisbon,
Portugal: Ministério das Obras Públicas
- Pires, Sérgio (24 June 2016), "Porto tem nova atração sobre o
Douro. é só subir 262 degraus»", Diário de Notícias (in
Portuguese), p. 21
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