Alcántara Bridge

Alcántara Bridge
Coordinates39°43′21″N 6°53′33″W / 39.7224°N 6.8924°W / 39.7224; -6.8924
CrossesTagus River
LocaleAlcántara, Spain
Heritage statusListed as cultural heritage since 1921[1]
Characteristics
DesignRoman arch bridge
MaterialStone
Total length181.7 m (596 ft)[2]
Width8.6 m (28 ft)[2]
Height45 m (148 ft)[3]
Longest span28.8 m (94 ft)[4]
No. of spans6
Load limit52 t (57 short tons)[5]
History
DesignerCaius Julius Lacer
Construction start104 AD
Construction end106 AD
Location
Map

Alcántara Bridge (also called Puente Trajan at Alcantara) is a Roman stone arch bridge. It was built over the Tagus River, Alcántara, Spain between 104 and 106 AD. The Roman emperor Trajan ordered this bridge built in 98 AD.[6] The Alcántara Bridge was built at the expense of 12 local municipalities in Lusitania. The names were added on an inscription on the archway over the central pier.[7]

The original length of this bridge was 190 metres (620 ft). It is now 181.7 metres (596 ft) long [2] The clear spans of the six arches from the right to the left riverside are 13.6 metres (45 ft), 23.4 metres (77 ft), 28.8 metres (94 ft), 27.4 metres (90 ft), 21.9 metres (72 ft) and 13.8 metres (45 ft)[4]

The Alcántara Bridge was one of 100 finalists for the 12 Treasures of Spain in 2007.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Patrimonio histórico: Bienes culturales protegidos. Consulta de bienes inmuebles. Bien: "Puente de Alcántara", retrieved 13-01-2010 (in Spanish)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Galliazzo 1994, p. 354
  3. ↑ From river bed to deck, excluding the triumphal arch (Galliazzo 1994, pp. 354f.). O'Connor 1993, p. 109 gives 48 m, 40–42 m for the height above the water level plus 14 m for the triumphal arch.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Galliazzo 1994, p. 356
  5. ↑ Durán Fuentes 2004, p. 237
  6. ↑ Whitney, Charles S. (2003) [1929], Bridges of the World: Their Design and Construction, Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, pp. 75–79, ISBN 0-486-42995-4
  7. ↑ Frothingham, A.I. (1915). "The Roman Territorial Arch". American Journal of Archaeology. 14 (19). Macmillan Company: 159, 172.
  8. ↑ "Lista de 100 finalistas de Nuestros 12 Tesoros de España". Sobreturismo.es. 2007-11-27. Retrieved 2014-10-06.

General references

  • David J. Brown, Bridges (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1993), p. 25
  • Manuel Durán Fuentes, La Construcción de Puentes Romanos en Hispania (Santiago de Compostela: Xunta de Galicia, 2004), pp. 194–200
  • Vittorio Galliazzo, I ponti romani, Catalogo generale Vol. 2 (Treviso: Edizioni Canova, 1994), pp. 353–358 (No. 754)
  • Bernhard Graf, Bridges that Changed the World (Munich: Prestel, 2002), pp. 20–21
  • Colin O’Connor, Roman Bridges (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), pp. 109–111 (SP21)

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