This is a really old and famous bridge. It is a transporter bridge. People, cars, and bikes can ride in a gondola like thing. You also can ride an elevator up and walk on the frame to cross the river.
This is the oldest operating transporter bridge in the world. It was built in 1896 near Bilbao, Spain. What makes it interesting is it is a solution to a problem. The problem was that boats with tall masts needed to go up and down the river and people needed to get across the river. In 1896, they did not know how to build a bridge high enough for tall masts. They were able to build the frame to hold the car that could cross underneath it.
Even today, it is an important bridge because big boats still need to go up the river and people still need to cross the river and the next closest bridge is many kilometers up river. People live on one side of the river and work on the other so they use it every day. Luckily it is only 0.35 Euros (about 47 cents) to ride the tram across. Riding the elevator up and walking across the top is much more expensive because it is really just for tourists. My daddy said it cost so much because the bridge is a World Heritage Site.
Daddy, Mama, Porter, and me on top of the Transporter Bridge in Gexto, Spain.
- Jack
Your photos are wonderful. I feel as though I were there with you. Thank you for sharing with us. Jack R. in Cambridge, MA
ReplyDelete