Running on the most iconic bridges 2/3

Run in San Francisco, on the Golden Gate Bridge

“The bridge that can’t be built”, as it was called before it was built… It took 4 years of work, literally against all odds, to hang this gigantic bridge on the rocks. A challenge so impossible that only one engineer, who had never built a suspension bridge before, took up the offer. The bridge is supported by two immense metal pillars 230m high. These towers support the 2 suspension cables, each measuring over 2km in length, and containing almost 130,000km, yes, 130,000km (!) of twisted cables (more than 3 times around the Earth each). Lines are attached to these main cables. The 2,737m high structure towers 67m above the water and supports 6 lanes of traffic, which have carried over 2 billion (!) vehicles since it opened in 1937.

urbirun San Francisco Golden Gate

Run in Porto, on the Dom Luis Bridge

Built by the engineer Seyrig, a disciple of Gustave Eiffel, this bridge has 2 levels, one for rail traffic and the other for road traffic. The upper level rests on a large metal arch and is 395 m long, while the lower, suspended level is only 174 m long. It was inaugurated in 1886.

urbirun Porto

Run in Paris, on the Alexander III Bridge

Inaugurated for the 1900 Universal Exhibition, the foundation stone was laid by the Tsar himself in 1896. The specifications called for it to be sufficiently flat not to obstruct views and perspectives, and sufficiently high over the water not to impede navigation. The result was a 107-metre-long, flat, single-arch metal bridge, which necessitated extensive concreting of the banks on which it rests. The bridge’s builders added an abundance of decoration, including 32 bronze candelabras, 2 monumental columns at each end topped by gilded bronze statues, and even lions led by children…

urbirun Paris, La Seine from the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower / urbirun Paris, La Grande Traversée from Etoile to Bastille

Run in Budapest, on the Chain Bridge

Designed by an English architect and completed in 1849, this is a suspension bridge whose 360m-long deck is supported by 2 towers. This system was chosen to make the bridge less sensitive to currents and ice breakup, which forced the existing boat bridge to be dismantled every winter. The bridge is guarded by lion statues. Legend has it that the sculptor who made them committed suicide, believing he had forgotten to give them tongues. Like all the city’s bridges, the bridge was destroyed by the Nazis in January 1945. It was rebuilt in 1949, 100 years after its first inauguration, when it was the first and only permanent bridge across the river in the whole country.

urbirun Budapest

Run in Amsterdam, on the Pont Maigre

This 9-span bridge, whose central span is double-decker, was built in wood in 1670. It was enlarged 200 years later, but has always retained its name. There are several legends linked to this name. One says that two sisters who lived on opposite sides of the river had a bridge built (and named after them) to make it easier for them to visit each other. The other maintains that the bridge’s nickname stemmed from the fact that it was so narrow that two pedestrians could not cross it side by side. The bridge has almost 1,500 “colleagues” across the city…

urbirun Amsterdam

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