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Maria Pia Bridge Ponte D. Maria Pia | |
|---|---|
 Maria Pia Bridge, Porto, Portugal | |
| Coordinates | 41°08′23″N 8°35′50″W / 41.13972°N 8.59722°W |
| Carries | No longer in use |
| Crosses | River Douro |
| Locale | Porto/Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal |
| Heritage status | National Monument Monumento Nacional Decree 28/82, Diário da República, Série 1, 47, 26 February 1982 |
| Characteristics | |
| Material | Wrought iron |
| Total length | 353 metres (1,158 ft) |
| Height | 60 metres (200 ft) |
| Longest span | 160m (525 ft) |
| History | |
| Engineering design by | Gustave Eiffel Théophile Seyrig Manuel Afonso Espergueira Pedro Inácio Lopes |
| Constructed by | Eiffel & Cª. de Paris |
| Construction start | 5 January 1876 |
| Construction end | 1 October 1877 |
| Inaugurated | 4 November 1877 |
| Closed | 1991 |
| Location | |
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Maria Pia Bridge (in Portuguese Ponte de D. Maria Pia, commonly known as Ponte de Dona Maria Pia) is a railway bridge built in 1877; the bridge is attributed to Gustave Eiffel, and is situated between the Portuguese Northern municipalities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia.
The double-hinged, crescent arch bridge, which is made of wrought iron, spans 353 m (1,158 ft), 60 m (200 ft) over the Douro River. It is part of the Linha Norte system of the national railway. At the time of its construction, it was the longest single-arch span in the world; today, it is no longer used for rail transport, having been replaced by a modern structure in 1991. It is often confused with the D. Luís Bridge, which was built nine years later and is located 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) to the west, but resembles the Maria Pia Bridge, although the D. Luis Bridge has two decks instead of one.