The Pencil bridge

The Suspension Bridge, officially called Ponte D. Maria II, was a suspended connecting the two banks of the Douro River between the city of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal Bridge.

Its construction was delivered to the French company Claranges Lucotte & Cie, owned by Count Claranges Lucotte, entering into the construction plan of the future road that would connect the Porto and Lisbon. The project was designed by the engineer Stanislas Bigot with the collaboration of the engineer José Vitorino Damásio. The Mellet and Amédée Carruette engineers collaborated during their construction.

The bridge was  opened without ceremony on 17 February 1843, during the occurrence of large floods of Douro that forced urgently to dismantle the Bridge of Boats.

 

 

 

Nowadays one can see the remains of the bridge next to the bridge  Dom luiz . The pillars of the ruin of the old guardhouse

There is a beautiful bar overlooking the river