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Double the budget and five years late La Pepa Bridge opens in Cádiz

Fiona Govan
Fiona Govan - [email protected]
Double the budget and five years late La Pepa Bridge opens in Cádiz
Photo: Carlos Fernandez Casado SA

It cost over half a billion euros and has taken more than eight years to build but finally the bridge linking Cádiz to Puerto Real has been inaugurated.

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Designed by Spanish engineer Javier Manterola, the Constitition 1812 Bridge - named after the site of the signing of Spain's constitution two centuries ago - is one of tallest in the world.
Longer and higher than San Francisco’s famous Golden Gate, the bridge nicknamed La Pepa, is over 5km long and stretches across a body of water 3.09 km in length.

The bridge width is 36.8m to allow a dual carriageway for traffic and double tramlines and 185m in height, making it the tallest in Europe.

The bridge was inaugurated by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Thursday alongside the regional president of Andalusia, Susana Díaz and the public works minister Ana Pastor. 

Radical leftwing mayor of Cádiz José María 'Kichi' González was also in attendance after a political row that saw the Podemos backed politician initially left off the invitation list.

The bridge had an initial budget of €270m ($304m) and was due to be completed in early 2011 but because of the economic downturn and a lack of funds its construction slowed.

It has been designed to open to allow ships as high as 69 meters to pass beneath the structure and will link the busy port of Puerto Real with the city of Cadiz.

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