Ponte Vasco da Gama bridge description and photos - Portugal: Lisbon (Topic)

Ponte Vasco da Gama bridge description and photos - Portugal: Lisbon. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Ponte Vasco da Gama.

Photo and description

The Vasco da Gama Bridge is a cable suspension bridge in Lisbon over the Tagus River. Viaducts (overpasses) and access roads adjoin it on both sides. Together with viaducts and transport roads, the length of the bridge is 17.2 km.

With the advent of the bridge, the load on another bridge in Lisbon, the 25 April Bridge, has been significantly reduced. It was with the aim of unloading the Bridge named after April 25, in February 1995, that the construction of the bridge began. And three years later, in 1998, the opening of the bridge took place, timed to coincide with the 500th anniversary of Vasco da Gama's opening of the sea route from Europe to India, which coincided with the holding of Expo-98, the World Fair.

There is a 6-lane car traffic across the bridge. The speed limit is 120 km / h, the same as on the motorway, but on one lane the speed limit is 100 km / h. In windy, rainy or foggy weather, the speed is limited to 90 km / h. The number of lanes on the bridge increases (2 more lanes are added) if the number of cars that cross the bridge every day increases to 52,000.

The bridge consists of sections: main bridge, viaducts (north, center, south and expo ), access roads (north and south). The estimated service life of the bridge is 120 years. It is worth noting that the Vasco da Gama bridge is able to withstand wind forces of up to 250 km / h and an earthquake 4.5 times stronger than the 1755 Lisbon earthquake known in history.

Since 2009, travel across the bridge in the north direction is paid (in the direction of Lisbon). Southbound travel across the bridge is free.

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Topic: Ponte Vasco da Gama bridge description and photos - Portugal: Lisbon.