Vasco da Gama Bridge

Vasco da Gama Bridge
Coordinates
Carries	Six road lanes of  IP 1 -  A 12
Crosses	Tagus River
Locale	Sacavém, north of Lisbon (right bank) Municipality of Alcochete (left bank)
Official name	Ponte Vasco da Gama
Maintained by	Lusoponte
Characteristics
Design	cable-stayed, viaducts
Total length	17.2 km (10.7 mi)
Width	30 m (98 ft)
Height	155 metres (509 ft) (pylon)
Longest span	420 m (1,378 ft)
History
Designer	Armando Rito
Construction begin	1995
Construction end	1998
Opened	1998-03-29
Statistics
Toll	€2.60 per passenger car (up to €10.80 per truck) northbound o

The Vasco da Gama Bridge (Portuguese: Ponte Vasco da Gama; pronounced: [ˈpõt(ɨ) ˈvaʃku dɐ ˈɡɐmɐ]) is a cable-stayed bridge flanked by viaducts and rangeviews that spans the Tagus River in Parque das Nações in Lisbon, capital of Portugal. It is the longest bridge in Europe (including viaducts), with a total length of 17.2 kilometres (10.7 mi), including 0.8 kilometres (0.50 mi) for the main bridge, 11.5 kilometres (7.1 mi) in viaducts, and 4.8 kilometres (3.0 mi) in dedicated access roads. Its purpose is to alleviate the congestion on Lisbon's other bridge (25 de Abril Bridge), and to join previously unconnected motorways radiating from Lisbon.

Construction began on February 1995; the bridge was opened to traffic on 29 March 1998, just in time for Expo 98, the World's Fair that celebrated the 500th anniversary of the discovery by Vasco da Gama of the sea route from Europe to India.

Description

The bridge carries six road lanes, with a speed limit of 120 km/h (75 mph), the same as motorways, except on one section which is limited to 100 km/h (60 mph). On windy, rainy, and foggy days, the speed limit is reduced to 90 km/h (56 mph). The number of road lanes will be enlarged to eight when traffic reaches a daily average of 52,000.

Bridge sections

1. North access roads
2. North viaduct - 488 m (1,601 ft)
3. Expo viaduct - 672 m (2,205 ft); 12 sections
4. Main bridge - main span: 420 m (1,378 ft); side spans: 203 m (666 ft) each (total length: 829 m or 2,720 ft); cement pillars: 150 m (492 ft)-high; free height for navigation in high tides: 45 m (148 ft);
5. Central viaduct - 6.351 m (20.84 ft); 80 pre-fabricated sections 78 m (256 ft)-long; 81 pillars up to 95 m (312 ft)-deep; height from 14 m (46 ft) to 30 m (98 ft)
6. South viaduct - 3.825 m (12.55 ft); 45 m (148 ft) sections; 84 sections; 85 pillars
7. South access roads - 3.895 m (12.78 ft); includes the toll plaza (18 gates) and two service areas

Construction and cost

The $1.1bn project was split in four parts, each built by a different company, and supervised by an independent consortium. There were up to 3,300 workers simultaneously on the project, which took 18 months of preparation and 18 months of construction. The financing is via a build-operate-transfer system by Lusoponte, a private consortium which receive the first 40-year of tolls of both Lisbon bridges. Lusoponte's capital is 50.4% from Portuguese companies, 24.8% French and 24.8% British. As of June 2014, the toll is €2.65 per passenger car (up to €11.55 per truck (August 2013)) northbound (into Lisbon). There is no toll for southbound traffic.

The bridge has a life expectancy of 120 years, having been designed to withstand wind speeds of 250 km/h (155 mph) and hold up to an earthquake 4.5 times stronger than the historical 1755 Lisbon earthquake (estimated at 8.7 on the Richter scale). The deepest foundation piles, up to 2.2 m (7.2 ft) in diameter, were driven down to 95 m (312 ft) under mean sea level. Environmental pressure throughout the project resulted in the left-bank viaducts being extended inland to preserve the marshes underneath, as well as the lamp posts throughout the bridge being tilted inwards so as not to cast light on the river below.

View from atop Vasco da Gama Tower.

See also

• 25 de Abril Bridge
• Lezíria Bridge
• List of bridges by length
• Megaproject

Source

• (Portuguese) www.civilium.net

External links

• Vasco da Gama Bridge on bridge-info.org
• Portal das Nações Discover the Ponte Vasco da Gama
• BBC news story of bridge opening
• Flickr photos of bridge