Octávio Frias de Oliveira Bridge

Octávio Frias de Oliveira Bridge
Octavio Frias de Oliveira Bridge
Coordinates
Crosses	Pinheiros River
Locale	São Paulo, Brazil
Official name	Octavio Frias de Oliveira Bridge
Characteristics
Design	cable-stayed bridge
Total length	1,600 metres (5,200 ft)
Height	138 metres (453 ft) (tower)
History
Construction end	May 2008
Opened	2008-05-10

The Octavio Frias de Oliveira bridge is a cable-stayed bridge in São Paulo, Brazil over the Pinheiros River, opened in May 2008. The bridge is 138 metres (453 ft) tall, and connects Marginal Pinheiros to Jornalista Roberto Marinho Avenue in the south area of the city. It is named after Octavio Frias de Oliveira.

Details

File:Ponte estaiada Octavio Frias de Oliveira 01 Sao Paulo 2008 08.jpg

Aerial view of Octávio Frias de Oliveira bridge

The bridge deck is unusual due to its form, which is similar to an "X", crossing at the tower. The "X" is 76 meters wide at its base and 35.4 meters wide at the top.

It is the only bridge in the world that has two curved tracks supported by a single concrete mast. The two curved tracks, one at an elevation of 12 meters and the other at an elevation of 24 meters, have approximate lengths of 900 meters each.

At the end of December lights are put up on the cables and illuminated to create color effects like those on a Christmas tree. The bridge is also lit up on special occasions during the year and is often used for automobile advertisements on television.

The bridge has been attacked by vandals on several occasions. In 2011, thieves stole 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) of wire, worth R$ 200,000 (US$ 117,000). Later in August, vandals broke in the bridge's control room and destroyed the panels. On January 9, 2012, vandals stole 94 of the 142 searchlights of the bridge. It will take 90 days and R$ 1,000,000 (US$ 590,000) to completely re-establish the lighting system.

External links

• New bridge photo, with some useful text
• Photo of the bridge from above