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25 de Abril Bridge with the city of Lisbon in the background

Summary: 25 de Abril Bridge with the city of Lisbon in the background The 25 de Abril Bridge translation 25th of April Bridge in Portuguese Ponte 25 de Abril pron IPA põt ɨ vĩt ɨ sĩku dɨ ɐ bɾiɫ is a suspension bridge connecting the city of Lisbon capital of Portugal to the municipality of Almada on the left bank of the Tagus river It was inaugurated on August 6 1966 and a train platform was added in 1999 It is often compared to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco USA due to their similarities and same construction company With a total length of 2 277 m it is the 17th largest suspension bridge in the world The upper platform carries six car lanes the lower platform two train tracks Until 1974 the bridge was known as Salazar Bridge Construction Since the late 19th century there had been proposals to build a bridge for Lisbon In 1929 the idea advanced as Portuguese engineer and entrepreneur António Belo requested a Government concession for a rail crossing between Lisbon and Montijo where the Vasco da Gama Bridge the second bridge serving Lisbon was built in 1998 This forced the Minister of Public Works Duarte Pacheco to form a commission in 1933 to analyze the request In 1934 the result was a proposal to build a road and rail bridge and bids were obtained This proposal was put aside in favor of a bridge which was built in Vila Franca de Xira 35 km north of Lisbon In 1953 a new Government commission started working and recommended in 1958 building the bridge choosing the south anchor point adjacent to the recently built monument to Christ the King Cristo Rei In 1959 the international open bid for the project received four bids In 1960 the winner was announced as a consortium headed by the United States Steel Export Company which had submitted a bid in 1935 On November 5 1962 construction began 45 months later the bridge was inaugurated on August 6 1966 six months ahead of schedule Presiding at the ceremony was the President of Portugal Admiral Américo Thomaz Also present were the Prime Minister dictator António de Oliveira Salazar and the Patriarch of Lisbon Cardinal Manuel Gonçalves Cerejeira The bridge was christened Salazar Bridge Ponte Salazar in honor of the Prime Minister The bridge was built by the American Bridge Company part of the winning consortium assisted by eleven local companies The steel was imported from the USA Four workers lost their lives out of 3 000 that worked on the site for a total of 2 185 000 man hours of work The total cost of the bridge came to 2 200 000 000 Portuguese escudos or US $ 32 million US $201 million in 2006 adjusted for inflation 25 de Abril Bridge Soon after the Carnation Revolution in 1974 the bridge was renamed the 25 de Abril Bridge the day the revolution had occurred A symbol of those times was captured on film with citizens removing the big Salazar brass sign from one of the main pillars of the bridge and painting a provisional 25 de Abril in its place Official name Ponte 25 de Abril Carries Six road lanes 25 de Abril Bridge with the city of Lisbon in the background The 25 de Abril Bridge translation 25th of April Bridge in Portuguese Ponte 25 de Abril pron IPA põt ɨ vĩt ɨ sĩku dɨ ɐ bɾiɫ is a suspension bridge connecting the city of Lisbon capital of Portugal to the municipality of Almada on the left bank of the Tagus river It was inaugurated on August 6 1966 and a train platform was added in 1999 It is often compared to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco USA due to their similarities and same construction company With a total length of 2 277 m it is the 17th largest suspension bridge in the world The upper platform carries six car lanes the lower platform two train tracks Until 1974 the bridge was known as Salazar Bridge Construction Since the late 19th century there had been proposals to build a bridge for Lisbon In 1929 the idea advanced as Portuguese engineer and entrepreneur António Belo requested a Government concession for a rail crossing between Lisbon and Montijo where the Vasco da Gama Bridge the second bridge serving Lisbon was built in 1998 This forced the Minister of Public Works Duarte Pacheco to form a commission in 1933 to analyze the request In 1934 the result was a proposal to build a road and rail bridge and bids were obtained This proposal was put aside in favor of a bridge which was built in Vila Franca de Xira 35 km north of Lisbon In 1953 a new Government commission started working and recommended in 1958 building the bridge choosing the south anchor point adjacent to the recently built monument to Christ the King Cristo Rei In 1959 the international open bid for the project received four bids In 1960 the winner was announced as a consortium headed by the United States Steel Export Company which had submitted a bid in 1935 On November 5 1962 construction began 45 months later the bridge was inaugurated on August 6 1966 six months ahead of schedule Presiding at the ceremony was the President of Portugal Admiral Américo Thomaz Also present were the Prime Minister dictator António de Oliveira Salazar and the Patriarch of Lisbon Cardinal Manuel Gonçalves Cerejeira The bridge was christened Salazar Bridge Ponte Salazar in honor of the Prime Minister The bridge was built by the American Bridge Company part of the winning consortium assisted by eleven local companies The steel was imported from the USA Four workers lost their lives out of 3 000 that worked on the site for a total of 2 185 000 man hours of work The total cost of the bridge came to 2 200 000 000 Portuguese escudos or US $ 32 million US $201 million in 2006 adjusted for inflation 25 de Abril Bridge Soon after the Carnation Revolution in 1974 the bridge was renamed the 25 de Abril Bridge the day the revolution had occurred A symbol of those times was captured on film with citizens removing the big Salazar brass sign from one of the main pillars of the bridge and painting a provisional 25 de Abril in its place Official name Ponte 25 de Abril Carries Six road lanes

Image Dimensions: 800 x 599