Barca Bridge

According to documents from 1197, the boat passage, which gave its name to the place and the bridge, was controlled by the Benedictine monks of the monastery of St John of Poio.{{Cite web|date=27 November 2009|title=Al pasar la barca me dijo el barquero|url=https://www.diariodepontevedra.es/articulo/pontevedra-ciudad/al-pasar-barca-me-dijo-el-barquero/20091127232900177717.html|website=Diario de Pontevedra|language=es}}

File:Pontevedra_49-09_(F._Zagala,_1842-1908).JPG

In the 19th century, the Society of Seamen of Pontevedra exploited the passage, which led to clashes with the monastery of Poio, the Marquis of Riestra and the Spanish Navy. To avoid these confrontations, given the need to build a bridge, the "Barca bridge building society" was created, formed by the Seafarers' Society, the inhabitants of Poio and capitalist partners.{{Cite web|date=26 March 2023|title=Una barca que se hizo puente|url= https://www.diariodepontevedra.es/articulo/pontevedra/barca-que-hizo-puente/202303261853331246222.html|website=Diario de Pontevedra|lang=es}}

The first low wooden bridge at La Barca was built in 1867 and began operating in 1871.Prudencio Landín Tobío: De mi viejo carnet. Deputación Provincial de Pontevedra, 1999. {{ISBN|84-89690-79-0}} 632. The structure included a lifting section, which was lifted with a winch to allow the passage of large ships to the Galera and Burgo quays.{{Cite web|date=5 March 2017|title=El puente de A Barca cumple 150 años de transformaciones|url=https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/pontevedra/poio/2017/03/05/puente-barca-cumple-150-anos-transformaciones/0003_201703P5C2991.htm|website=La Voz de Galicia|language=es}}

File:Pontevedra-Puente-de-la-Barca.jpg]]

The administrations, especially the Marquis of Riestra, who had a rural estate and a factory in A Caeira, and politicians such as Eduardo Vincenti or Eugenio Montero Ríos, demanded the construction of a raised bridge and another parallel one for the passage of the railway. In 1887, work began on what was to be a stone bridge. Work was halted for seven years.

In 1894, the construction of a metal bridge became necessary,{{Cite web|date=5 August 2016|title=El puente de madera de La Barca|url=https://pontevedraviva.com/opinion/2430/puente-madera-barca-jose-benito-garcia/|website=Pontevedra Viva|language=es}} as it is in contemporary architecture, because of the greater ease of transport, which allowed for more ductile handling and faster execution of the bridge. The work brings together the postulates of metal architecture, which has been using steel as an architectural material since Joseph Paxton built the Crystal Palace pavilion at the London World's Exhibition in 1851.

The project, designed by Luis Acosta and Eduardo Fungueiriño, was carried out by Chavarri, Petrement and Co. During its construction, the workers hired by the industrialist Benito Corbal went on strike for some time, which ended thanks to the mediation of the civil governor, Augusto González Besada.{{Cite web|date=5 July 2005|title=El puente de A Barca cumple un siglo sin superar los atascos|url=https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/pontevedra/2005/07/05/puente-barca-cumple-siglo-superar-atascos/0003_3874508.htm|website=La Voz de Galicia|language=es}}

At the beginning of the 20th century, work began on the central metal arch. The bridge was inaugurated on 3 July 1905. It had an arch with a span of {{convert|75|m}}, resting on two solid masonry supports, and three arches on each side, in which ornamental motifs in the Gothic style, in the taste of the time, were carved. On the eve of the inauguration, load tests were carried out, putting {{convert|200|t}} under static load and 13 carriages of {{convert|4|t}} each under dynamic load.

The bridge became a dividing line in the area of A Moureira, leaving on one side the residential area of the sailors, on the other the area of taverns and brothels.

In 1945, work began to replace the metal structure with a concrete arch of {{convert|72|m}} span designed by Eduardo Torroja Miret.{{Cite web|date=21 December 2019|title=1935: Ponen a prueba la estructura metálica del puente de A Barca|url=https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/pontevedra/2019/12/21/ponen-prueba-estructura-metalica-puente-barca/0003_201912P21C10994.htm|website=La Voz de Galicia|language=es}} However, the work was not completed until 1950.

In 1989, the masonry abutment on the south side was modified from three arches to a wider one, below which is Corbaceiras Avenue. Two years later, the twin abutment on the north side was also widened to accommodate the AP-9 below.

Nowadays, after renovation work in the mid-1990s and 2010s, the bridge has two-way traffic for vehicles and covered pavements for pedestrians.{{Cite web|date=6 March 2013|title=El puente de A Barca recupera la cubierta dañada en el temporal|url=https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/pontevedra/2013/03/06/puente-barca-recupera-cubierta/0003_201303P6C2998.htm|website=La Voz de Galicia|language=es}}

The bridge owes its name to the fact that in the past, the passage from Pontevedra to Poio was made by boat.

The current bridge is formed by a large reinforced concrete arch with a {{convert|72|m|adj=on}} span over the Ria de Pontevedra and two smaller low masonry arches with a {{convert|25|m|adj=on}} span on the landward sides. It is decorated with bas-reliefs at the bottom of the large concrete support pillars covered in granite.

The bridge is {{convert|13|m}} wide and {{convert|200|m}} long. The span of the arch supports two lanes of road traffic and two pavements.

To protect the passers-by from the winter winds and rains, there is a wooden awning over the pavements of the bridge.

File:Pontevedra-Club naval y Ponte da Barca (14927779203).jpg|Barca Bridge and marina

File:Pontevedra. Ponte da Barca.jpg|Concrete bridge arch dating from 1950

File:Pontevedra-Puente-de-la-Barca.jpg|Bridge and Paseo Marítimo de Pontevedra

{{Reflist|image_size=}}

{{commons category|Ponte da Barca, Pontevedra}}

• Burgo Bridge
• Tirantes Bridge
• Currents Bridge
• Santiago Bridge
• List of bridges in Spain
• Plaza de Concepción Arenal

• [https://structurae.net/fr/ouvrages/ponte-da-barca A Barca Bridge] on the website Structurae
• [http://loboquirce.blogspot.com/2015/10/o-ponte-da-barca-en-pontevedra.html La Barca Bridge]

{{Pontevedra landmarks}}

{{Subject bar |portal1= Transport|portal20=Engineering|portal2= Spain}}

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Category:Bridges over the Lérez River

Category:Bridges completed in the 19th century

Category:Road bridges in Spain

Category:Buildings and structures in Pontevedra

Category:Buildings and structures in the Province of Pontevedra

Category:Bridges completed in 1905

Category:Bridges in Galicia (Spain)

Category:Transport in Galicia (Spain)

Category:Arch bridges in Spain

Category:Bridges in Pontevedra