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It is hard for the new generations to imagine this city without the silhouette of the majestic Tampico Bridge. However, most of the inhabitants of the region lived other times when the only way to reach across the Pánuco River was by chalán (ferry) which docked in “El Paso del Humo” and “El 106” after a long wait, since they were not able to satisfy the demand due to the great traffic of cars and trucks that transited.
In face of the necessity to improve the situation the progress of this great region was confronting, being president of the country Lic. Gustavo Diaz Ordaz, the idea of building a bridge over the Pánuco River that would unite the states of Tamaulipas and Veracruz was born, supported by the modernization of communications. In the middle of 1967, Ing. Gilberto Valenzuela, the full member of the Department of Public Work, sent the head of the Diffusion Department Mr. Fernando Heftye in his representation in order to present the projects to the municipal and state authorities and to announce that the estimated budget (800 –900 million pesos) had been approved and was in the hands of Dr. Emilio Martínez Manautou, a man from Tamaulipas that practiced his function as secretary of Mexico’s presidency. In spite of everything, many years passed and the longing project did not start until 1979 when José López Portillo was president of the country. The work was finished after 9 years. The place for its construction was chosen mainly because of its accesses as well as for being in the city limits between Tampico and Cd. Madero and on the side of Veracruz it was very near the highway that headed to Tuxpan. Eight hundred workers from the ICA group took part in the construction of the bridge as well as several professionals that realized nearly one thousand sketches and plans until the got the definite one. During its construction there were some problems. The main one had to do with the foundation of support #13 when the work was suspended in 1982 due to a lack of budget and in 1984 the work was ready to be continued. In those two years, the adjacent terrain recovered its natural state, which avoided it to sink and get to a resistant stratum that was considered in the ground study.
After managing to work all of the obstacles, after many years of waiting this very longing project, raising its cost to 140,000 million pesos, it was inaugurated on October 17, 1988 before the President of Mexico Lic. Miguel De la Madrid Hurtado, the Governor of the State Ing. Américo Villarreal Guerra, the Governor of Veracruz Lic. Fernando Gutiérrez Barrios, the Secretary of the Marine Admiral Miguel Angel Gómez Ortega, the Secretary of Communications and Transportations Ing. Daniel Diaz Diaz and the Presidents of Tampico and Cd. Madero. This work that reflects the outstanding effort of the Mexican engineering won in 1988 the International Price of Alcántara over 36 similar works that were built in Spain and Portugal, but the best reward for everybody that took part in it is the thankfulness of the inhabitants of this region that has been benefited and the great significance that it has for commerce and tourism, since it is a very important element that supports the communication in the Golf of Mexico in one of its most important traffic points, where exports and imports communicate from southeast to north.
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Articles from our 14th Edition Tampico, victim of Pirates, Bucaneers, and Privateers
León Trotsky in Tampico
Tampico Wakeboard City
Tajín Summit
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The 93,307 tons of structure are composed by two axial masts from where 22 straps hold it up and deep foundations were used only for the supports from #7 to #13 in the left margin (Tamaulipas) and from #11 to #17 in the right margin (Veracruz), while the supports #13 and #15 that corresponded to the principal skylight used reinforced concrete bricks 65 and 30 meters deep. This type of construction makes it possible for the navigation canal to be saved without any obstacles and being able to resist 250 Km/h winds. Its central skylight is 360 meters long and has a free minimal vertical height of 50 meters, which facilitates the passing of deep-draughted ships that are used in this port.
