Guadiana Bridge, between Spain and Portugal, freshens up ahead of anniversary

The cross-border structure will turn 30 in September

On the last day of June, the Spanish Ministry of Transport reported that renovation work on the Guadiana International Bridge, which spans the namesake river and border between Spain and Portugal, had been completed. This happened a couple of months ahead of the upcoming 30^th anniversary of the unveiling of the cable-stayed structure – an event that took place on 2 September 1991.

The bridge is also the southernmost border crossing between the two countries

The end of the works was considered by the National Government delegate in Andalusia, Pedro Fernández, as "magnificent news for all of Andalusia and, especially, for the Huelva border municipalities that maintain very close ties with our neighbouring country in terms of commerce and tourism mainly. Citizens of both countries will be able to travel by road in a safe and agile way, coinciding, in addition, with the season of greater road mobility due to the start of the summer holidays”.

The actions that have been carried out are:

• Total rehabilitation of the bracing system and improvement of its behaviour;
• Implementation of security measures for the protection of the suspenders;
• Rehabilitation of reinforced concrete elements;
• Rehabilitation and/or replacement of support devices, joints and safety elements;
• Rehabilitation of lighting and signalling in the river area;
• Remodelling of signage and implementation of a variable signage system;
• The decorative lighting of the Bridge;
• Bridge Monitoring.

Portugal is in charge of the conservation and maintenance of the bridge, as agreed in 2002, but the two countries are carrying out reinforcement works. The latest agreement, from 2015, stipulated that Portugal would carry out the necessary actions and Spain would reimburse half of their costs.