Isoisänsilta ( Swedish: ''Farfarsbron'') is a

pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, by wheelchair or with other mobility aids. Streets and roads often have a designated footpath for pedestrian traffic, called the '' sidewalk'' in North American English, the ''pavement'' in British En ...

and cycling bridge in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, opened in June 2016. The bridge connects the

Kalasatama Kalasatama (; ; literally translated "fish port") is a neighbourhood in the city of Helsinki, Finland. The area is officially part of the Sörnäinen district; and like Sörnäinen, Kalasatama is located a little more than one kilometre north fro ...

neighbourhood on the Helsinki mainland to the island of Mustikkamaa and, via it, to the islands of Korkeasaari and

Kulosaari Kulosaari () is an island and an East Helsinki suburb in Helsinki, Finland. It is also the 42nd neighbourhood of the city. Construction of villas on the island started in the beginning of the 20th century, and a bridge from Sörnäinen was opened ...

. The total length of the bridge is , including the main span. The minimum width of the deck is , which at the Kalasatama end widens and splits into two lanes separated by the central bridge arch. Conversely, at the Mustikkamaa end, the arch splits into two supports on either side of the central bridge deck. The bridge was designed by the civil engineering firm Pontek, and is based on their winning entry, titled ''Tiikerihai'' ("

Tiger Shark The tiger shark (''Galeocerdo cuvier'') is a species of ground shark, and the only extant member of the genus '' Galeocerdo'' and family Galeocerdonidae. It is a large apex predator, with females capable of attaining a length of over . Popula ...

"), into the design contest held by the City of Helsinki in 2011. Construction began in 2014 and was completed in 2016, with the bridge opening to traffic on 1 June 2016. The bridge is named after the Isoisänniemi

promontory A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the s ...

of Mustikkamaa, and its name literally translates as "Grandfather's Bridge". Some locals have taken to climbing on top of the bridge arch, in a number cases jumping off into the sea approximately below, which the police and rescue service strongly advice against as dangerous. In 2017, the Finnish Association of Civil Engineers chose Isoisänsilta as the 'Bridge of the Year'.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Helsinki Bridges in Finland Bridges completed in 2016

See also

References