César Gaviria Trujillo Viaduct

About

The César Gaviria Trujillo Viaduct (Viaducto César Gaviria Trujillo) is a cable-stayed bridge connecting the neighbouring cities of Pereira and Dosquebradas in Risaralda, Colombia. It is one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in South America and, at the time of its completion in 1997, ranked 20th in the world.[1] The bridge has a total length of 440 metres, including a central span of 211 metres. There are four traffic lanes and two sidewalks, giving a total width of 26 metres. There are two towers (Concrete material) that have a height of 56 metres above the deck (Steel structure), which in turn has a maximum height of 55 metres above the Otún River.[2] The bridge was built by a Brazilian and German consortium (Consortium of Andrade Gutierrez and Walter Bau AG), with assistance from French and Portuguese firms. The fabrication of the Steel structure was contracted to Industrias Metalurgicas Van Dam in Venezuela. Construction of the bridge took three years and was completed in 1997, at a cost of US$58 million. Twelve workers died during the construction process.[3] The bridge has had a significant impact on reducing traffic congestion in the two cities. It reduced the travel time between them by up to 40 minutes, avoiding the need to descend to the bottom of the river valley.[4] It also had an important regional effect, through improved transportation links be

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.