Puente Colgante (Manila)
| Puente Colgante | |
|---|---|
Puente de Clavería as seen on October 1, 1875.
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| Coordinates | 14°35′43.8″N 120°58′55.5″E / 14.595500°N 120.982083°ECoordinates: 14°35′43.8″N 120°58′55.5″E / 14.595500°N 120.982083°E |
| Carries | Pedestrians and carriages |
| Crosses | Pasig River |
| Locale | Manila |
| Other name(s) | Clavería Bridge (before 1930s) |
| Preceded by | Puente de Convalencia (1880) |
| Followed by | Puente Grande (1852) Puente de España (1875) Jones Bridge (1916) |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Suspension bridge |
| Material | Steel |
| Total length | 110 m (360 ft) |
| Width | 7 m (23 ft) |
| No. of spans | One |
| Piers in water | None |
| History | |
| Designer | Matias Mechacatorre |
| Constructed by | Ynchausti y Compañia |
| Construction start | 1849 |
| Construction end | 1852 |
| Opened | 1852 |
The Puente Colgante, originally called Puente de Clavería, was a suspension bridge that connected the Manila districts of Quiapo and Ermita across the Pasig River in the Philippines. Designed by the Spanish Basque engineer Matias Menchacatorre and completed in 1852, it was the first steel suspension bridge in East Asia and the first toll bridge of its kind in the Philippines. The bridge was replaced by Quezon Bridge in the 1930s.
Puente Colgante (which is the term for a suspension bridge in Spanish; literally, hanging bridge), the second bridge built over Pasig river, was the first steel suspension bridge built in Asia when it was started in 1849 and completed in 1852. It was built and owned by Ynchausti y Compañia, the business headed by Jose Joaquín de Ynchausti. He commissioned the steel wire suspension design from Spanish Basque engineer Matias Menchacatorre. The bridge was first named Puente de Clavería, likely in honor of the Governor-General of the Philippines Narciso Clavería, who served from 1844-1849.
The suspension bridge measured 110 meters (360 ft) long and 7 meters (23 ft) wide, and had two lanes that allowed passage of horses and carabao-drawn carriages. It was also opened for pedestrians traveling on foot between Quiapo and Intramuros and nearby areas.
In 1854 Ynchausti brought together the Ynchausti family holdings under the above name. A Basque Spaniard born in Cadiz, de Ynchausti migrated to the Philippines in the second quarter of the nineteenth century and built a business empire. In 1889 Ynchausti y Compañia was the largest company in the Philippines.
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Wikipedia