Vasco da Gama Bridge

The length of the bridge Vasco da Gama is 17.2 kilometers, this amazing beauty of the bridge, which can not see either end or edge, is by far the longest bridge in Europe. The bridge is laid across the purest river Tagus and looking at it gives the impression that the architects of the bridge thought not only about the practical, but also about the aesthetic side of the project.

Vasco da Gama Bridge was given such an unusual name for a reason, because its opening on March 29, 1998 was timed to the 500th anniversary of the opening of the route from Europe to India by the great navigator Vasco da Gama.

The Vasco da Gama Bridge is able to withstand winds of up to 250 km / h and strong earthquakes. An interesting fact is that the construction of the bridge had to take into account even the spherical shape of the Earth, otherwise the difference in height between the northern and southern ends of the bridge would be 80 centimeters. During the construction of the bridge, its environmental impact was also taken into account: to minimize interference with the natural environment of the Tagus River, the night lighting of the bridge was designed so that the directional light of powerful lamps did not fall on the river.

Six-lane traffic is organized across the Vasco da Gama bridge, and if necessary, two more unloading lanes are added during peak hours.