25 de Abril Bridge

Ponte 25 de Abril
View with the Christ the King Sanctuary
Coordinates38°41′21″N 09°10′37″W / 38.68917°N 9.17694°W / 38.68917; -9.17694
CarriesSix road lanes of  IP 7   A 2 
Two railway tracks of Linha do Sul
CrossesTagus River
LocaleLisbon (right/North bank)
Pragal (left/South bank)
Official namePonte 25 de Abril
Other name(s)Ponte Salazar (before 1974)
Tagus River Bridge
Maintained byLusoponte [1]
Characteristics
DesignSuspension
Total length3,173 metres (10,410 ft)
Longest span1,012.9 m
Clearance below70 m at mean high water
History
Constructed byAmerican Bridge Company
Opened6 August 1966
Statistics
Daily traffic150,000 cars
157 trains
Toll2.10 € (northbound only)
Location
Map

The 25 de Abril Bridge (Portuguese: Ponte 25 de Abril, 25th of April Bridge, Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpõtɨ ˈvĩt (i) ˈsĩku ðɨ ɐˈβɾil]) is a suspension bridge connecting the city of Lisbon, capital of Portugal, to the municipality of Almada on the left (south) bank of the Tagus River. It has a main span length of 1,013 metres (3,323 ft), making it the 48th longest suspension bridge in the world.[1]

At the time of its inauguration in 1966, the bridge was named Salazar Bridge (Ponte Salazar), after Portuguese Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar, who ordered its construction. After the Carnation Revolution in 1974, which overthrew the remnants of Salazar's Estado Novo regime, the bridge was renamed for April 25, the date of the revolution. It is also commonly called the Tagus River Bridge (in Portuguese: Ponte sobre o Tejo = "bridge over the Tagus").[2][3]

Later changes had to be made due to the rapid increase in population. In the 1990s, a fifth car lane was added, and in 1999, a lower deck, used as a railway track, which was planned since the beginning, was finally built.[4] Today, the upper deck carries six car lanes while the lower deck carries a double track railway, electrified at 25 kV AC.

  1. ^ "El barrio de Belém: ¿qué ver en Belém y dónde comer?". Vipealo. 12 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Tagus River Bridge (Lisbon, 1966)". Structurae.
  3. ^ "Tagus River Bridge diary / 1962-1967". oac.cdlib.org.
  4. ^ "De Lisboa a Almada: a história de uma ponte no Tejo". Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. Retrieved 13 December 2021.

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