25 de Abril Bridge

The 25 de Abril Bridge is a suspension bridge that spans the Tagus River, linking Lisbon on the north bank with Almada on the south. It stands as one of Europe’s longest suspension bridges, its steel towers rising 190 metres above the water. The bridge carries six lanes of traffic on its upper deck and a double-track railway below, a design planned from the start but only completed decades later. Its name recalls the Carnation Revolution of 15 April 1974, when the dictatorship fell and the bridge’s original dedication to Salazar was replaced. Before that, it had been called the Salazar Bridge, after the prime minister who ordered its construction in the 1960s. The bridge’s construction involved more than three thousand workers and took just under four years. American engineers from United States Steel and Morrison-Knudsen oversaw the project, while the design came from New York and San Francisco firms. Four lives were lost during the work, and the steel came from the United States. The ceremony marking its opening was attended by Salazar himself, the president, and the Patriarch of Lisbon. Over time, the bridge has been widened and reinforced to handle growing traffic, including the addition of a railway deck in 1999. Visitors can walk across the bridge during the annual half-marathon or visit the observation deck opened in 2017. The upper deck hums under fast-moving traffic, its inner lanes made of metal grating to reduce wind pressure. Films such as On Her Majesty’s Secret Service have used the bridge as a dramatic backdrop. From the south bank, the statue of Christ the King watches over the river, its position chosen as the southern anchor point during planning. The bridge remains a vital link, carrying thousands of vehicles and trains each day.