Justme
November 6th, 2005, 08:10 PM
On a similar note to the old Elbe Tunnel under Hamburg, which still uses lifts to transport cars and people up and down to the tunnel (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=6082881#post6082881) and possibly the only one of it's type still in use in the world, here is another unusual transportation construction.
The Hanging Bridge in Bilbao. I know there are a couple of others still in operation around the world, I remember reading about one in the U.K.
The Vizcaya Bridge was designed by Alberto de Palacio in 1887. When a new team of business administrators and technicians took over the running of the bridge in 1996, they agreed on two key objectives: to offer a modernised and renovated transport system for the 21st century, and to promote this monument to the same degree as its novel neighbour, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.
With this in mind, the Vizcaya Bridge was considered as an industrial monument where its history and difficulties had to be respected, and the intervention work carried out would have to recover the spirit of its original construction. The restoration of the structure, which had been affected by often inappropriate interventions over one hundred years, was undertaken. The transport system was made suitable for new methods and technology by renewing the passenger control systems and installing a new gondola for passengers and vehicles. Finally, the Vizcaya Bridge was adapted for the tourist and leisure market by opening a walkway over the upper span with access from two panoramic lifts.
This work has resulted in an exquisitely refurbished Bridge and a monument from the Industrial era restored for future generations.
Most of the photo's below are probably before renovation.
This was the world's first transporter bridge, connecting the upper middle-class Las Arenas quarter of Getxo with the working class town of Portugalete and its historic city centre. There are two ways to cross the bridge, on the gondola which carries the vehicles and most pedestrians a few feet above the waters of the estuary, or across the overhead walkway, a giddy 50 metres above the ground and the river
The span is 148m long
http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/bil/bil-bizkaiazubia.jpg
http://213.96.147.219/puente%20colgante/images/acta1.jpg
http://www.mykreeve.net/bilbao/getxo/puente_vizcaya_gondola_span.jpg
http://www.mykreeve.net/bilbao/getxo/puente_vizcaya_gondola.jpg
http://www.mykreeve.net/bilbao/getxo/puente_vizcaya_looking_south.jpg
http://www.europanostra.org/images/awards_2002/vizcaya_a.jpg
http://www.shirleypipeband.com/gallery/spb2004getxo3350vizcaya.jpg
The Hanging Bridge in Bilbao. I know there are a couple of others still in operation around the world, I remember reading about one in the U.K.
The Vizcaya Bridge was designed by Alberto de Palacio in 1887. When a new team of business administrators and technicians took over the running of the bridge in 1996, they agreed on two key objectives: to offer a modernised and renovated transport system for the 21st century, and to promote this monument to the same degree as its novel neighbour, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.
With this in mind, the Vizcaya Bridge was considered as an industrial monument where its history and difficulties had to be respected, and the intervention work carried out would have to recover the spirit of its original construction. The restoration of the structure, which had been affected by often inappropriate interventions over one hundred years, was undertaken. The transport system was made suitable for new methods and technology by renewing the passenger control systems and installing a new gondola for passengers and vehicles. Finally, the Vizcaya Bridge was adapted for the tourist and leisure market by opening a walkway over the upper span with access from two panoramic lifts.
This work has resulted in an exquisitely refurbished Bridge and a monument from the Industrial era restored for future generations.
Most of the photo's below are probably before renovation.
This was the world's first transporter bridge, connecting the upper middle-class Las Arenas quarter of Getxo with the working class town of Portugalete and its historic city centre. There are two ways to cross the bridge, on the gondola which carries the vehicles and most pedestrians a few feet above the waters of the estuary, or across the overhead walkway, a giddy 50 metres above the ground and the river
The span is 148m long
http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/bil/bil-bizkaiazubia.jpg
http://213.96.147.219/puente%20colgante/images/acta1.jpg
http://www.mykreeve.net/bilbao/getxo/puente_vizcaya_gondola_span.jpg
http://www.mykreeve.net/bilbao/getxo/puente_vizcaya_gondola.jpg
http://www.mykreeve.net/bilbao/getxo/puente_vizcaya_looking_south.jpg
http://www.europanostra.org/images/awards_2002/vizcaya_a.jpg
http://www.shirleypipeband.com/gallery/spb2004getxo3350vizcaya.jpg