Ponte dos Ingleses

The Bridge of the English , mistakenly known as Metallic Bridge , is located in Praia de Iracema , Fortaleza , Ceará, Brazil . It was a project to improve the port structure of Fortaleza.

The construction of the Lucas Bicalho viaduct began on September 24, 1921, by the English company Norton Griffts Co., to serve as a port of the city of Fortaleza, replacing the old Metallic Bridge (next bridge, near Avenida Almirante Tamandaré). However, it never functioned as a port. The viaduct was part of the ante-project of an island port proposed by engineer Manuel Carneiro de Sousa Bandeira, and developed by engineer Lucas Bicalho. The works began in 1921, during the government of President Epitacio Pessoa , and were suspended under the government of Artur Bernardes , in which it remained unfinished.

In 1994, a bridge recovery project was approved through the Secretary of Culture of the State of Ceará. The bridge was recovered and urbanized for public use, in addition to having received a wooden frame over part of the viaduct, project of the architects Fausto Nilo and Delberg Ponce de Leon, also responsible for the architectural project of the Dragon Center of the Sea of ​​Art and Culture . Currently, the Bridge of the English also has a Nucleus of Protection of the Dolphins and a Tower of Observation of Cetaceans.

A port never completed

The project works were suspended due to lack of budget credit, and suffered the natural wear of time and tides. From that, the construction became distorted, began to be frequented as a lookout for its privileged view and gained tourist appeal. The place, then, never came to be used as a port.

Source: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponte_dos_Ingleses