Sunday, November 23, 2008

Brazil - Rio-Niterói Bridge

 

Stamp Issue : 1974-03-11 

Rio-Niterói Bridge is a Box girder bridge that connects the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Niterói in Brazil. Its official name is "President Costa e Silva Bridge", in honor of the Brazilian president who ordered its construction. "Rio-Niterói" started as a descriptive nickname that soon became better known than the official name. Today, hardly anyone refers to it by its official name.
It is 13,290 m long - 8,836 m over water and the bridge's central span is 72 m high in order to allow passage to the hundreds of ships that enter and leave the bay every month. It carries a daily traffic load of approximately 140,000 vehicles, which pay a toll only when entering Niterói of R$3.50 (as of August 2007), about US$2.04 or €1.32. It has 18 access points and eight overpasses.


No comments: