Currents Bridge

Currents Bridge

Puente de las Corrientes
Currents Bridge; Puente de las Corrientes
	Currents bridge
Coordinates	42°26′12″N 8°38′54″W / 42.436556°N 8.648301°W
Carries	Motor vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians
Crosses	Lérez River
Locale	Pontevedra, Spain
Characteristics
Design	Tied-arch
Material	Steel and reinforced concrete
Total length	138 m (453 ft)
Width	30 m (98 ft)
Height	10.5 m (34 ft)
Longest span	116 m (381 ft)
History
Construction start	2008
Construction end	2012
Opened	28 June 2012
Location

The Currents Bridge (puente de las Corrientes in Spanish), is a tied-arch bridge that crosses the Lérez River in the city of Pontevedra, Spain. It was inaugurated in 2012^[1] and connects Uruguay Avenue and Domingo Fontán Street.

History

The location of the bridge is known as The Currents (Las Corrientes), because this is where the waters of the Rons river meet those of the Lérez river and the ria of Pontevedra. Since 1989,^[2] the construction of a new bridge in this place of The Currents was planned to connect the two banks of the Lérez river. However, it was not until the beginning of the 21st century that this idea was taken up again to provide another exit from the city centre to the north and the beaches of the ria de Pontevedra and direct access to the AP-9 motorway,^[3]^[4]^[5]

In 2008, the city council organised an ideas competition to decide on the design of the new bridge. In the end, one of the proposals for an tied-arch bridge was chosen because it combined modernity and integration into the urban environment, as the 10-metre height of its two metal arches was not considered excessive so as not to obstruct the view of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major.^[6] Construction of the bridge began on 23 December 2008.^[7] It was inaugurated on 28 June 2012 with its opening to road traffic.

Description

This bridge has a total length between abutments (span) of 116 metres. Its main structure consists of two parallel arches made of 10.5-metre high white steel tubes from which 17 steel stays are suspended to support the bridge deck. The steel arches are supported on reinforced concrete foundations. Its structure is light, elegant and diaphanous.

It has two roads in each direction and two cycle paths. On both sides of the bridge there is a covered pedestrian bridge. Pedestrian and cycle traffic is separated from motorised traffic.^[8] The functionality of the bridge has been designed with a pedestrian underground passage with natural light through the upper roundabout on Uruguay Avenue. This pedestrian underground passage, which runs under the bridge, is protected on the side of the ria by a glass screen, so that the water can be seen during high tides when the sea level rises.^[9]