| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
Construction begun symbolically on August 23, 1968, with the presence of Queen Elizabeth II of The United Kingdom and The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in their first and thus far only visit to Brazil. Actual work begun in January, 1969. The bridge was inaugurated on March 4, 1974.
Its official name is "President Costa e Silva Bridge", in honor of the Brazilan president who ordered its construction. "Rio-Niterói" started as a descriptive nickname that soon became better known than the official name. Today, hardly anyone refers to it by its official name.
At a cost of approximatelly US$22 million, financed by British banks, the work was done by British construction firms. Five workmen died during the construction, when a segment of the structure collapsed into the Guanabara Bay .
The bridge is 13,290m (8.25 miles) - 8,836m (5.49 miles) over water - long and is referred to as "the national pride of engineering", as it has the highest central space in the world (in order to allow passage to the hundreds of ships that enter and leave the Bay every month), soaring 72m (236.22 feet) high. Furthermore, it receives a daily traffic load of approximatelly 230,000 vehicles (that pay a toll only when entering Niterói of R$The Real (plural reais) is the present monetary unit ( currency) of Brazil. History Past The "Real" was the currency used by the first Portuguese settlers to arrive in the then New World, but the first official money to circulate bearing the name "Real" w2.70, or about US$0.95). The bridge has 18 access points and 8 overpasses.
Officially, the bridge is considered a Federal highway (designated "BR-101")
Since June 1June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining. Events 193 Roman Emperor Marcus Didius is assassinated in his palace. 1485 Matthias of Hungary took Vienna in his conquest of Austria (from Frede, 19951995 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). It has a Golden number of 1, and was the first year of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1995- 2005): http://www. org/culture/indigenous . Events January events Ja, the Rio-Niterói Bridge has been under private administration, by a company named Ponte S.A., and it is planned for it to remain so for 20 years counted from the concession date above.