Impressive Vasco da Gama Bridge adorns the river Tagus at its widest part. It is designed to connect the northern suburbs with the southern bank of the river near Montijo. It was built to reduce traffic congestion on the April 25 bridge in Lisbon. It is not known whether the bridge leaves a greater impression during the day or during the night, and its appearance is powerful and stunning. You can often hear people say that Lisbon is European San Francisco, precisely because of the bridge that resembles the Golden Gate.
The bridge was named after the famous marine explorer Vasco da Gama. Da Gama was the first European to arrive in India by sea, from the Atlantic Ocean, and he contributed to the development of trade by sea and is largely responsible for the wealth of Lisbon.
The bridge is 17 km long and is the longest bridge in the European Union, the second in Europe and among the longest in the world. It was officially opened on March 29, 1998, during the world exhibition in the honor of Vasco da Gama, to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the sea route from Europe to India. The construction of the bridge took three years.
Its construction is strong and safe, it is believed that it can withstand wind speeds of 250km/h, as well as withstand earthquakes five times stronger than the one that destroyed Lisbon in 1755. The bridge is not made for pedestrians, it is exclusively for traffic, but it is made to be seen from different parts of the city and provides an incredible feeling while watching it on the lookouts above the river.
The bridge has a total of six lanes, and the speed with which you can move by car is limited to 120 km/h, while in bad weather, the speed limit is 90 km/h.
Three thousand three hundred workers worked on the construction of the bridge, and the value of the project itself was around 1.1 billion dollars.
Author of the text:
Maja Glavaš, Bachelor with Honours in Communicology. Works in Tourism.
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