Ojuela Bridge

About

The Ojuela Bridge (Puente de Ojuela), also known as the Mapimí Bridge, is a historic suspension bridge at the former Ojuela mining settlement in the Mapimí Municipality of the Mexican state of Durango. The bridge spans a deep canyon within the historic Ojuela mining complex. It was constructed as part of the transportation system of the Ojuela Mine and originally carried a railway used to transport mined ore. It is now used exclusively by pedestrians. The bridge forms part of the historic landscape of Ojuela, an important mining district that developed from the late 16th century and became a major industrial mining operation during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The date of construction has been reported differently in historical sources. Some sources give 1892, while other historical evidence places construction in the late 1890s, with completion in 1899 and operation beginning around 1900. The bridge itself formerly displayed a plaque commemorating 1892–1992. Contemporary engineering literature, however, describes the bridge as a structure constructed by the John A. Roebling Company in 1899. The bridge is approximately 314 m (1, 030 ft) long, with an estimated main span of approximately 271.5 m (891 ft). Its original deck was substantially wider than the present pedestrian walkway and carried a track for mine cars.

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