Oyapock River Bridge
| Oyapock River Bridge | |
|---|---|
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| Coordinates | 3°51′25″N 51°49′32″W / 3.85694°N 51.82556°WCoordinates: 3°51′25″N 51°49′32″W / 3.85694°N 51.82556°W |
| Carries | 2-lane wide highway |
| Crosses | Oyapock River |
| Locale | Border between  Brazil and  France (French Guiana) |
| Official name |
French: Pont sur l'Oyapock Portuguese: Ponte sobre o Rio Oiapoque |
The bridge on the Cayenne-Macapá route
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The Oyapock River Bridge spans the Oyapock River, linking the cities of Oiapoque in Brazil and Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock in French Guiana. The bridge is cable-stayed, with two towers rising to a height of 83 metres (272 ft) and a length of 378 metres (1,240 ft). There are two lanes for vehicles with a total width of 9 metres (30 ft) and a pedestrian sidewalk with a width of 2.50 metres (8 ft 2 in). The vertical clearance under the bridge is 15 metres (49 ft).
Its construction was completed in August 2011. However, due to delays in the construction of Brazilian checkpoint facilities, the bridge was not open to traffic for many years.
The inauguration ceremony of the bridge finally took place on 18 March 2017. Starting from 08:00 on 20 March 2017, the bridge has been open to members of the public.
The bridge is toll-free and is accessible to both private cars and pedestrians. On the French side, there is a border checkpoint staffed by three governmental agencies: the Border Police, Customs and the Directorate for Food, Agriculture and Forestry. The border checkpoint is open during the periods of 08:00 - 12:00 and 14:00 - 18:00 on weekdays, and 08:00 - 12:00 on Saturdays.
Until the Brazilian border outposts are completed, only passenger vehicles (not cargo vehicles or public transportation vehicles) are permitted access. As the Brazilian side of the bridge is not staffed, travellers arriving in Brazil should stop at the offices of the Federal Revenue Service (Receita Federal) and the Federal Police in Oiapoque to regularise their entry.
With the bridge open to traffic, it is now possible to drive from Cayenne to Macapá, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amapá, although parts of the BR-156 federal highway on the Brazilian side are yet to be paved (of the 600km between Oiapoque and Macapá, around 105km has not yet been paved).
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Wikipedia