The Bridge of the Americas

Project Details

Project Description

The Bridge is 145 metres long, and 44.5 metres tall. (Including its access roads, it is 500 metres long.) In its construction, 52 high support wires are employed in symmetrical formation.

Regarding the name of the structure: the Bridge should not be confused with the bridge of the same name in Panama, Central America. In fact, what initially gave rise to the name was the Bridge's location: at the intersection of Avenida de las Américas and Avenida Ingeniero Gianattassio (2).

Historically, the building and opening of the Bridge came at a time when Uruguay was emerging from a period of economic difficulty influenced by the geography of the country, situated as Uruguay is, with the giant countries of Argentina and Brazil as neighbours. A combination of developments in Brazil and economic turmoil in Argentina meant that in practical terms the Uruguayan public finances were limited. This Bridge project, however, was prioritized by the Government of President Jorge Batlle Ibáñez because of the structure's pivotal location at a major route eastwards out of the city and department of Montevideo, and Ciudad de la Costa in the department of Canelones. The freer flow of traffic at this location affects many road travellers: both commuters into Montevideo, and tourist traffic towards the eastern coastal resorts such as Punta del Este, and commercial traffic relating to industry and logistics in the vicinity of Montevideo's Carrasco International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional de Carrasco ).