The 25th of April Bridge will have a Panoramic Viewpoint
The 50th anniversary of the 25th of April Bridge marks the start of the future Interpretative Centre of the 25th of April Bridge – Pillar 7 Experience, a tourist and cultural project integrating a panoramic viewpoint and a sensory, physical and intellectual experience at the bridge’s pillar in Alcântara. Best Experience Lisbon knows that the new Interpretative Centre of the 25th of April Bridge – Pillar 7 Experience will allow the visitors to discover the bridge in a unique way. The visit will include an elevator ride up to a panoramic viewpoint which will be built next to the bridge deck allowing a different and privileged view over Lisbon, especially over Belém and the Tagus River area. This project will be installed at the bridge’s pillar 7, next to India Avenue, in Alcântara.
The entire area around the pillar will be adapted to the new Interpretative Centre. Signs will be placed outside allowing visitors to discover a bit of the project’s history, with big information circles on the floor. On the ground floor there will also be the visitor’s reception, a store, a virtual tour space and a photo booth.
The entrance control building is equipped with surveillance systems and it will give access to the central massif, where the visitor can “travel” along 300 thousand m3 of concrete – establishing a connection to something never seen before: the workers’ room. There you will find on display 3600 projections about the bridge’s construction and a suspended scale model of the 25th of April Bridge over water.
Also in this room is an elevator that leads to the upper rooms in the massif, namely the bridge’s suspension cables mooring room and another room with mirrors in the ceiling and walls, creating the vertigo feeling you would get when vertically climbing the 25th of April Bridge.
Finally the visitors well arrive at the panoramic viewpoint, one of the greatest attractions of this project where, like other world-famous structures such as the Golden Gate Bridge, in California, Harbour Bridge in Sidney, or Tower Bridge in London, you will have one of the most fantastic experiences of this Interpretative Centre of the 25th of April Bridge – Pillar 7 Experience.
Este projeto é o resultado de uma parceria entre as Infraestruturas de Portugal, a Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, a Associação Turismo de Lisboa e a Entidade Regional de Turismo da Região de Lisboa. A gestão do equipamento ficará da responsabilidade da Associação Turismo de Lisboa.
Prevê-se que as obras estejam concluídas em 2017 permitindo a todos experienciar novas sensações neste elemento icónico e estrutural da cidade de Lisboa, a Ponte 25 de Abril.
This project is the result of a partnership between Infraestruturas de Portugal (Portugal’s Infrastructures), Lisbon’s City Hall, Lisbon’s Tourism Association and the Regional Entity of Tourism of the Lisbon Area. Lisbon’s Tourism Association will be in charge of managing the equipment.
The construction work will be complete in 2017, allowing everyone to experience new sensations in this iconic and structural element of Lisbon, the 25th of April Bridge.
The 25th of April Bridge
On the 6th of August of 1966, the 25th of April Bridge opened, marking a new milestone in the Portuguese engineering, uniting the north and south margins of the Tagus River, between Lisbon and Almada.
The determination of making a bridge over the Tagus River, in Lisbon, goes back to 1870, with the first project by the engineer Miguel Pais, advocating for a combined road and rail bridge that would connect the oriental side of Lisbon to Montijo. In almost a century, many ideas came up, but the dream never became a reality.
The 1950’s were decisive for studies about crossing, culminating in the creation of the Bridge over the Tagus River Office and the launch of an International Public Bid, in the current location.
When the bridge was inaugurated it was the biggest suspended metallic structure in Europe and the fifth biggest in the world.
Its construction made it necessary to dig 6,6 million m3 of soil and stone, consumed 300 thousand m3 of concrete and 82 thousand tons of steel parts.
The 25th of April Bridge has one of the world’s longest lattices, with both main towers elevating around 190 meters above water level and with a navigating headroom of 70 metres, ensuring the entry of big ships to Lisbon’s Harbour. On the north side is the concrete access viaduct with 945 metres of length, with a total length of approximately 3.255 metres when including the bridge.
Nowadays, after 50 years, it is still a fundamental part of the country’s transportation system, used daily by around 300 thousand users, by road and railway. It is also one of the most viewed and photographed monuments in the city, and one of the “must see” spots suggested by Best Experience Lisbon.
