Rick Steves Snapshot Lisbon by Rick Steves

Author:Rick Steves
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Avalon Publishing
Published: 2017-03-17T04:00:00+00:00

SOUTH OF LISBON, ACROSS THE RIVER

▲25th of April Bridge (Ponte 25 de Abril)

Imagine that before 1966, there was no way across the Rio Tejo except by ferry. This suspension bridge—1.5 miles long (3,280 feet between the towers—bears an uncanny resemblance to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge (it was built in 1966 by the same company that made its famous cousin—but notice the lower deck for train tracks). The foundations are sunk 260 feet below the surface into the riverbed, making it the world’s deepest bridge. Originally named for the dictator Salazar, the bridge was renamed for the date of Portugal’s 1974 revolution and liberation. For a generation, natives would show their political colors by choosing which name to use. While conservative Portuguese called it the “Salazar Bridge,” liberals referred to it as the “25th of April Bridge” (just as Washington, D.C.’s airport is still called “National” by some and “Reagan” by others).

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