Just discovered a bridge on the internet, felt a need to get its image where it could be seen.

[Judi Lynn]

César Gaviria Trujillo Viaduct, Pereira, Colombia

















Wikipedia:

The César Gaviria Trujillo Viaduct (Spanish: Viaducto César Gaviria Trujillo) is a cable-stayed bridge connecting the neighbouring cities of Pereira and Dosquebradas in Risaralda, Colombia. It is one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in South America and, at the time of its completion in 1997, ranked 20th in the world.[1]

The bridge has a total length of 440 metres, including a central span of 211 metres. There are four traffic lanes and two sidewalks, giving a total width of 26 metres. There are two towers (Concrete material) that have a height of 56 metres above the deck (Steel structure), which in turn has a maximum height of 55 metres above the Otún River.[2]

The bridge was built by a Brazilian and German consortium (Consortium of Andrade Gutierrez and Walter Bau AG), with assistance from French and Portuguese firms. The fabrication of the Steel structure was contracted to Industrias Metalurgicas Van Dam in Venezuela. Construction of the bridge took three years and was completed in 1997, at a cost of US$58 million. Twelve workers died during the construction process.[3]

The bridge has had a significant impact on reducing traffic congestion in the two cities. It reduced the travel time between them by up to 40 minutes, avoiding the need to descend to the bottom of the river valley.[4] It also had an important regional effect, through improved transportation links between Manizales, Armenia and Pereira.

The bridge has become infamous as a site for suicides. From the time of its completion until July 2005, 88 people ended their lives by jumping off the bridge, including people from neighbouring departments who were attracted by the high and accessible structure.[5] Two people have survived the fall, in one case by landing in a stand of guadua growing by the river. In a particularly shocking episode in 2003, a woman threw her 2-year-old daughter off the bridge before jumping to her own death with her 7-month-old daughter.[6] In 2008, the government of Pereira demanded the construction of some kind of barrier along the bridge's edges, and, since the barrier's construction, no one has jumped off the bridge.

The bridge is named after Pereira-born César Gaviria Trujillo, president of Colombia from 1990 to 1994.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9sar_Gaviria_Trujillo_Viaduct

Not such a cheery history!

[JoeOtterbein]

1. In 1997, my brother-in-law jumped from the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore.

For years after, I avoided that bridge as much as I could. Even when I was working in the area, doing third-party food safety audits.

But I have gone over the bridge many times before and after, and from what the police told us at the time, I know exactly what lane and where he stopped his car to jump over the barrier.

I'm sure you already understand the effect on my wife and children, as well as his elderly Mom who died just two months later.

(tears)

[gristy]

2. geez, I'm so sorry.

[JoeOtterbein]

6. Thank you. nt

[Judi Lynn]

3. So much sadness. Overwhelming. Totally rearranges your life for you, inwardly.

It's easy to understand how you would feel being anywhere near the place for such a long time.

Some words from the bible have always stayed with me, "Now, we see through a glass darkly," leaving humans to feel there really IS something better to be learned later. I hope that's true.

Shocking event, probably made you feel separated from your own life for a while.

Thanks for mentioning it. Best wishes.

[JoeOtterbein]

5. Thank you all. A song from then I remember: Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) [Official Music Video]

[link:

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[royable]

4. A good friend of our family killed herself by jumping from a high bridge near my home

when I was young, and even now, decades later I think of her every single time I travel that bridge. Several years and many deaths after the event, the state finally put up fencing on the bridge to make suicide attempts much more difficult.

I'm surprised that the OP's bridge would not have had barriers planned as part of its initial design. It is beautiful, though.

Sorry for your sorrow, JoeO.

[JoeOtterbein]

7. I'm sorry.

(tears)