Biscay Bridge

The Vizcaya Bridge (Bizkaiko Zubia in Basque), also known as Bizkaia Bridge, Suspension Bridge, Portugalete Bridge, or Portugalete Suspension Bridge, is a toll transporter bridge, conceived, designed and built by private initiative between 1887 and 1893, which joins the two banks from the Bilbao estuary in Vizcaya (Spain). This civil engineering construction was inaugurated on July 28, 1893, being the first bridge of its type in the world and one of the eight that are still preserved.

The bridge goes by several names. The name that appears on its official website is "Bizkaia Bridge", although its most popular and widespread name is "Suspension Bridge" to which the extension "de Portugalete" is sometimes added. It also usually receives the names of "Puente de Portugalete", since it originally linked Portugalete with Las Arenas de Portugalete (both banks were considered to belong to the same municipality), and "Puente Palacio", in honor Alberto de Palacio y Elissague, the engineer who designed it.

The bridge links the town of Portugalete with the neighborhood of Las Arenas, which belongs to the municipality of Guecho, as well as the two banks of the Bilbao estuary. Its construction was due to the need to unite the existing spas on both banks of the estuary, intended for the industrial bourgeoisie and tourists at the end of the century XIX.

History

French civil engineer and businessman Ferdinand Arnodin, an expert both in the manufacture of cables and in the construction and repair of suspension bridges, intervened both in the design process of the bridge and in its construction. Arnodin is the author of the Rochefort transporter bridge, in France, whose profile is indeed very similar to that of Vizcaya. The construction of the bridge, which was carried out between 1890 and 1893, was not exempt from problems and dissensions between Palacio and Arnodin, which led to the continuous intervention of the renowned French engineer A. Brüll, who had been president of the Society of Civil Engineers. from France.

The bridge is 61 meters high and 160 meters long. It is a suspension bridge with a shuttle gondola for the transport of vehicles and passengers. It was the first bridge of this type built in the world and therefore served as a model for numerous bridges built in Europe, Africa and America. The Vizcaya Bridge is currently considered the oldest serviced transporter bridge in the world.

In mid-1937, during the Civil War, the engineers of the Republican Army of the North received the order to destroy all the passes over the Bilbao estuary, in order to stop the advance of Franco's troops. For this reason, on June 17 of that year, the crossbar that fell into the water was knocked down. The bridge was rebuilt and finally put into service again, on June 19, 1941. The reconstruction project is due to the civil engineer José Juan Aracil, who updated the design of the original beam and the suspension and cable stay cables. Starting to assemble the central walkway from the middle towards both shores of Portugalete and Las Arenas by means of some cables that served as support to maintain the central walkway.

The 5 gondolas that have hung from the bridge since its inception have evolved both in the construction materials used and in the increased security measures for its occupants.

Detail of Vizcaya Bridge.

The bridge is managed by the company El Transbordador de Bizkaia, S.L.. The bridge shuttle makes trips 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Traveling on the bridge ferry saves a road journey of almost 20 km, so it continues to be a widely used means of transport to connect Getxo with Portugalete.

In 1999, the concessionaire company carried out important works on the bridge, including the installation of elevators in the towers on both sides and the fitting out of a walkway on the upper beam, with the aim of introducing a tourist use. A new gondola and new access buildings were also built, modifying the carriage.

By the Basque Government, through Decree 265/1984, of July 17 (BOPV no. 132, of August 4), the "Vizcaya" Bridge was declared a "Historical-Artistic Monument". Subsequently, by decree 108/2003, of May 20 (BOPV no. 111, of July 6), "adapts to the prescriptions of Law 7/1990, of the Basque Cultural Heritage, the file of Good Qualified Cultural, with the category of Monument", in favor of the Bridge.

On July 13, 2006, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, being chosen from a total of 37 nominations. UNESCO considers the Vizcaya Bridge one of the most outstanding works of iron architecture of the Industrial Revolution and highlighted its innovative use of braided light steel cables.

Vizcaya bridge shuttle bar.

The prizes and distinctions with which he has been distinguished are the following: Diploma for Tourist Quality at the destination (Euskalit 2011), Aixegetxo sariak (Architecture and Public Space 2011), Tourism Competitiveness Certification from the Basque Government (2015, 2016).

The metallic structure of the bridge has been covered from the beginning by black paint (or, in some seasons, smoke grey), but this color makes the structure absorb more thermal radiation, which causes more abrupt expansions that deteriorate some pieces. In 2010, a restoration project was approved that included a change of color. Three tones were proposed, similar to those of three iron ores from the nearby Montes de Triano: the Gallarta campanil, the Triano blende and Somorrostro hematite red vein. Finally, the reddish color of the Somorrostro vein (RAL code 3005; RGB 94-33-45) was chosen. On April 24, 2013, the Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament asked local and regional authorities to guarantee security at the Vizcaya Bridge. The decision was formulated after the appearance in Brussels of the parents of Mikel Uriarte, a young man who died in an accident when he was crossing the ferry with his car in 2010.

In December 2018, coinciding with the year the celebration of its 125 years, the Pastoral Zubia premiered in Portugalete, where the same bridge tells the story of the town.