Universal Inheritance

The Vizcaya Hanging Bridge was the first hanging bridge with a shuttle vehicle in the world. As such it is also the father of a series of similar constructions which proliferated around Europe, Africa and America during the first third of the 20th century. Still today nine of its descendents are still standing, albeit that many are not in operation.

France is the country where most of this type of bridge were built given that the constructor of the Vizcaya Hanging Bridge, Ferdinand Arnodin, successfully exploited the original patent at its main ports, like Bizerta (Tunisia), Rouen, Burdeaux, Nantes, Marseille or Brest. They were all dismantled, dynamited or bombed during the wars, and the only one still standing is the one in Rochefort-Martrou, built in 1900.

Five were built in England, and three have now disappeared. The one in Newport, inaugurated in 1906, is still operating. On the other hand, of the three German shuttle bridges, two are still standing and the one in Osteen is still working. This type of bridge was also built in America, but the only one still working is in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of La Boca in Argentina. The Sky Ride Bridge in Chicago was demolished, as was the Alejandrino Bridge in Río de Janeiro.