Maria Pia Bridge

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Maria Pia Bridge Ponte D. Maria Pia
Maria Pia Bridge, Porto, Portugal
Coordinates	41°08′23″N 8°35′50″W / 41.13972°N 8.59722°W / 41.13972; -8.59722
Carries	No longer in use
Crosses	River Douro
Locale	Porto/Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
Heritage status	National Monument Monumento Nacional Decree 28/82, Diário da República, Série 1, 47, 26 February 1982
Characteristics
Material	Wrought iron
Total length	353 metres (1,158 ft)
Height	60 metres (200 ft)
Longest span	160m (525 ft)
History
Engineering design by	Gustave Eiffel Théophile Seyrig Manuel Afonso Espergueira Pedro Inácio Lopes
Constructed by	Eiffel & Cª. de Paris
Construction start	5 January 1876
Construction end	1 October 1877
Inaugurated	4 November 1877
Closed	1991
Location

Maria Pia Bridge (in Portuguese Ponte de D. Maria Pia, commonly known as Ponte de Dona Maria Pia) is a railway bridge built in 1877, and attributed to Gustave Eiffel, situated over the Portuguese Northern municipalities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia.

Part of the Linha Norte system of the national railway, the wrought iron, double-hinged, crescent arch spans 353 m (1,158 ft), 60 m (200 ft) over the Douro River. At the time of its construction, it was the longest single-arch span in the world; today, it is no longer used for rail transport and was replaced by a modern structure in 1991. It is often confused with the D. Luís Bridge, which was built nine years later and is located 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) to the west, but resembles the structure, albeit with two decks.