The Bridge over Lake Maracaibo

This is perhaps the most representative architectural work of the city of Maracaibo, linking the city and the western part of the state with the rest of the country.

It was inaugurated on August 24, 1962 by then President Rómulo Betancourt, after 4 years of construction and designed by Italian engineer Ricardo Morandi. It was blessed by Monsignor Domingo Roa Perez.

It has 135 sections, two of which are 235 meters long, making a total length of 8,678.90 meters (8.67 km) and its maximum height is 45 meters. Its width is 19.4 meters, where the 4 traffic lanes are located and the total number of pillars is 134. It is made of reinforced and prestressed concrete and is one of the largest of its kind in the world and is currently ranked 65th overall.

The first bidding for the same was made by Marcos Pérez Jiménez, who in 1956 contracted the company Canpenon Bernard de Venezuela to carry out the study and prepare two preliminary projects, with the following possible locations: Capitán Chico-Altagracia, La ciega-Punta de Leiva, Punta Santa Lucía-Palmarejo, San Francisco-Punta Camacho, and Punta de Piedras-Punta Iguana, the latter being chosen and designed by the company Precomprimidos y Asociados, which began construction the following year but was interrupted by the overthrow of the president and restarted under the Betancourt government.

Two years later, on April 6, 1964, the tanker Esso Maracaibo collided with piles 31 and 32 and collapsed 249 meters of the structure. It was repaired in eight months by the same company that built it at the expense of Creole Petroleum Co, owner of the ship that caused the incident.

In 1979, the tensioning wires of pile 22 burst due to corrosion and after studies in which the original construction company participated, the solution was designed by Dr. Juan Otaola, changing the system where the wires rested and using a larger diameter.

Subsequently, it has undergone routine maintenance and security systems, colored lights and other technological advances have been added.

It is one of our main icons and although its official name is the Bridge over Lake Rafael Urdaneta, it is popularly mentioned without the name of the Zulian hero.