The Guadiana International Bridge (; ) is a bridge that crosses the Guadiana River connecting southern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

(town of Ayamonte) and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

(town of

Castro Marim Castro Marim (), officially the Town of Castro Marim (), is a town and a municipality in the southern region of Algarve, in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 6,747, in an area of 300.84 km2. The current mayor is Francisco Amaral, elected ...

). It is the southernmost land crossing on the Portugal–Spain border. It is not split evenly between the two countries, with a greater share of it situated in Portugal. Completed in 1991, its structural type is a

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which wire rope, cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or wikt:stay#Etymology 3, stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, norm ...

, with a deck of

prestressed concrete Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete used in construction. It is substantially prestressed (Compression (physics), compressed) during production, in a manner that strengthens it against tensile forces which will exist when in service. Post-t ...

. The bridge was designed by the Portuguese Structural Engineer Professor

José Luis Câncio Martins José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''J ...

on behalf of Huarte S.A. (now Obrascón Huarte Lain) and Teixeira Duarte. The bridge is open to vehicles only. It is the third longest bridge in Portugal and one of the longest in Spain. The bridge is 666 metres long with the central span between the towers being 324 metres. The deck stands 20 metres above the river, allowing the navigation of ships of deep draft. The two towers of the bridge are 95 and 96 metres tall, respectively. The Spanish side tower rests on an artificial island built on the riverbed, while the pillar on the Portuguese side is on land. The bridge connects the ''Via do Infante de Sagres'' A22 motorway (Portugal) to the ''Autopista del Quinto Centenario'' A-49 Motorway (Spain), and is part of the

European route The international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The network is numbered from E1 up and its roads cross national borders. It also reaches Central ...

E1.

History

In the 1960s

and

conducted studies to determine if a bridge in the area was possible. These began in 1963 and ended in 1985 with the signing of an agreement between the two countries.

References

External links

* {{Structurae, id=20004890, title=Guadiana International Bridge Image:Guadiana Mouth.jpg, Aerial view of the Guadiana mouth. The bridge is at top right Image:Puente Internacional 395.jpg, Looking upstream from water level Image:Puente sobre el Guadiana.JPG, Looking upstream from the Spanish bank Image:Puente Internacional 416.jpg, Looking downstream from water level International bridges Road bridges in Spain Bridges in Andalusia Cable-stayed bridges in Portugal Bridges completed in 1991 Portugal–Spain border crossings Cable-stayed bridges in Spain Bridges over the Guadiana River 1991 establishments in Europe

History

See also

References

External links