The Rio-Antirio bridge |
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Have you ever followed your impulse to travel to the unknown? Travel to somewhere without any plan? In a place you have never been again? I like to travel like this… filling my mind with new images… new smells… new sounds… I did it once more time last Sunday. I woke up early at the morning ready to travel. Destination… unknown. I left Vrasidas, my MG to drive me wherever he liked and wanted to go. I was only the driver and the person who had to pay for the tolls at the high way and fill its tank with gasoline. Vrasidas' choice was perfect. He drove me in Nafpaktos and Galaxidi, two of the most beautiful places in Greece but before being there we passed from The Bridge between Rio and Antirio. |
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The Rio-Antirio bridge is a cable-stayed bridge crossing the Gulf of Corinth near Patra, linking the town of Rio on the Peloponnese to Antirio on mainland Greece, thus connecting the peninsula with the rest of Europe. The bridge dramatically improves access to and from the Peloponnese , which could previously be reached only by ferry or via the Isthmos of Corinth at its extreme east end. It has a length of 2252 m (2882 m including the access bridges); as it consists entirely of five cable-stayed spans and four pylons, and it is one of the world's longest cable-stayed suspended decks. Its width is 28 meters -- it has two vehicle lanes per direction, an emergency lane and a pedestrian walkway. This bridge is widely considered to be an engineering masterpiece owing to several solutions applied to span the difficult site. These difficulties include deep water, insecure materials for foundations, seismic activity, the probability of tsunamis, and the expansion of the Gulf of Corinth due to plate tectonics. |
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Its official name is the Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge . Charilaos Trikoupis was a 19th century Greek prime minister, and suggested the idea of building a bridge between Rio and Antirrio; however, the endeavour was too expensive at the time, when Greece was trying to get a late foot into the Industrial Revolution The bridge was planned in the mid-1990s. Site preparation and dredging began in July 1998, and construction of the massive supporting pylons in 2000. With these complete in 2003, work began on the traffic decks and supporting cables. On May 21, 2004, the main construction was completed; only equipment (sidewalks, railings, etc.) and waterproofing remained to be installed. The bridge was finally inaugurated on August 7, 2004, a week before the opening of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens -- and the Olympic torchbearers were the first to officially cross its length. |
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The total cost of the bridge was about € 630,000,000, mostly funded by the European Union, and it was finished ahead of its original schedule, which had foreseen completion between September and November 2004, and within budget. Due to the peculiar conditions of the straits, several unique engineering solutions had to be found. The water depth reaches 65 m, the seabed is mostly of loose sediment, the seismic activity is significant, and the Gulf of Corinth is expanding at a rate of about 30 mm a year, thus the possibility of tectonic movements had to be taken into account. Thus, special construction techniques were applied. The piers are not buried into the seabed, but rather rest on a bed of gravel, which was meticulously leveled to an even surface (a difficult endeavor at this depth). During an earthquake, the piers should be allowed to move laterally on the seabed; the gravel bed absorbing the energy. The bridge parts are connected to the pylons using jacks and dampers to absorb movement; too rigid a connection would fail in the event of an earthquake, but the bridge should not have too much lateral leeway either, so as not to damage the piers. There is provision for the gradual expansion of the strait over the bridge's lifetime. Cars passing the bridge have to pay a €10.90 toll, while different rates exist for lighter and heavier vehicles and frequent travelers. An €1.70 toll is applicable for motorbikes. |
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This bridge is really impressive and it is a symbol of Greece of the 21th century. I shooted many photos crossing the bridge during midday going to Nafpaktos and at night when again crossed it at the return trip. I took the photos as I drove my car and that was fun for me. At night my camera couldn't focus at the blue light of the bridge's cables and the result I took is strange and impressive but I like it and I hope that you would like it too. The rest of my trip and a tour of Nafpaktos I am going to prepare and post it at my next blog. Do I need to recommend you a trip at the area of this bridge? |