Rande Bridge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Rande BridgePonte de Rande |
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| Coordinates | 42°17′17″N 8°39′38″W / 42.288080°N 8.66051°W |
| Carries | Motor vehicles |
| Crosses | Ria de Vigo |
| Locale | Redondela - Moaña, Galicia, Spain |
| Maintained by | Audasa |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Cable-stay |
| Material | Concrete |
| Total length | 1,558 m (5,112 ft) |
| Width | 23.46 m (77.0 ft) |
| Height | 148 m (486 ft) |
| Longest span | 401 m (1,316 ft) |
| Number of spans | 3 |
| Piers in water | 4 |
| History | |
| Designer | Fabrizio de Miranda Florencio del Pozo Alfredo Passaro |
| Construction begin | 1973 |
| Construction end | 1978 |
| Opened | 1981 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 50,000 |
The Rande Bridge is a very important bridge in Spain. It's known as Ponte de Rande in Galician and Puente de Rande in Spanish. This amazing structure is a special type called a cable-stayed bridge. It crosses the beautiful Vigo Bay, connecting the towns of Redondela and Moaña. The bridge is about 9 kilometers from the city of Vigo. It is also 18 kilometers from Pontevedra.
Building the Rande Bridge
The Rande Bridge was designed by three talented engineers. They were Italian engineer Fabrizio de Miranda, Florencio del Pozo from Spain, and Alfredo Passaro. Florencio del Pozo also worked on the bridge's foundations. Building the bridge started in 1973. It was finished in 1978. The bridge officially opened to traffic in 1981. This was just over a year before the 1982 FIFA World Cup began.
Bridge Features and Size
The Rande Bridge is a very long structure. Its total length is 1,604 meters. The main towers that hold up the bridge are 148 meters tall. The longest part of the bridge, called the main span, stretches 401 meters. When it first opened, it was not the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world. However, it was the longest one that had more than two lanes for cars.
Traffic and Future Plans
Today, about 50,000 vehicles use the Rande Bridge every single day. Since it opened in 1981, over 230 million vehicles have crossed it. Because so many cars use it, there might be traffic jams in the future. To help with this, plans were made to make the bridge wider. In February 2015, work began to expand the bridge. This big project cost about 107.9 million euros. The Rande Bridge is part of the AP-9 motorway. For many years, drivers had to pay a toll to cross it. In 2006, it became a "shadow toll" road. This means the government pays the toll instead of the drivers.
See also
In Spanish: Puente de Rande para niños
- Battle of Vigo Bay, a famous battle that happened in the area
- Vigo, a nearby city
- Pontevedra, another nearby city
- Moaña, one of the towns the bridge connects
- Cangas, Pontevedra, a town close by
