La Pepa Bridge

The Constitution of 1812 Bridge, also known as La Pepa Bridge, is a new bridge across the Bay of Cadiz, linking Cadiz with Puerto Real in mainland Spain.Cadiz's first bridge, the Carranza bridge, was inaugurated in 1969, and is now crossed by some 40,000 vehicles per day. In 1982 the Spanish government accepted the need for a second bridge.It has two 180 m pylons, one in the sea and the other in Cabezuelas Harbour, a 540-meter span and 69 meters of vertical clearance. The bridge also includes a 150-meter removal span.It is the second bridge that crosses over to Cádiz from the mainland, after Carranza bridge, and one of the highest bridges in Europe, with a gauge of 69 meters and 5 kilometers in total length. It is the third access to the city, along with the isthmus San Fernando and the Carranza bridge. Given the large width of the deck, it will be a high capacity bridge: a motorway with two lanes in each direction and two lanes reserved for metropolitan public transport such as the new tram system.The bill was drafted by the engineer of roads, canals and ports, Javier Manterola. The works were scheduled for completion in 2012, coinciding with the bicentenary of the Spanish Constitution of 1812, which was written in Cádiz. However, due to cuts in public works required by the current economic crisis, the work is more than three years late.