Rio-Niterói bridge

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Rio-Niterói Bridge

Official name	President Costa e Silva Bridge
Locale	Rio de Janeiro and Niterói, Brazil
Design	Box girder bridge
Total length	13,290 m (8.25 miles)
Width	72 m (236.22 ft)
AADT	140,000
Beginning date of construction	August 23, 1968
Completion date	January, 1969
Opening date	March 4, 1974
Maps and aerial photos

Coordinates: 22.871213° S 43.153406° W

The Rio-Niterói Bridge is a Box girder bridge that connects the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Niterói in Brazil.

Construction began symbolically on August 23, 1968, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in their first and thus far only visit to Brazil. Actual work begun in January, 1969, and it opened on March 4, 1974.

Its official name is "President Costa e Silva Bridge", in honor of the Brazilian president who ordered its construction. "Rio-Niterói" started as a descriptive nickname that soon became better known than the official name. Today, hardly anyone refers to it by its official name.

The work was done by British construction firms at a cost of approximately US$22 million, financed by British banks. Five workmen died during the construction when a segment of the structure collapsed into the Guanabara Bay.

It is 13,290 m (8.25 miles) long - 8,836 m (5.49 miles) over water and the bridge's central span is 72 m (236.22 feet) high in order to allow passage to the hundreds of ships that enter and leave the bay every month. It carries a daily traffic load of approximately 140,000 vehicles, which pay a toll only when entering Niterói of R$3.50 (as of August 2007), about US$2.04 or €1.32. It has 18 access points and eight overpasses.

Officially it is part of federal highway BR-101.

Since June 1, 1995, it has been under the management of Ponte S.A., under a 20-year concession.