Funchal, Madeira, Portugal.

As we crossed the Atlantic Ocean on our transatlantic cruise in March, we visited several islands. On the Portuguese island of Madeira, our excursion put us on a cable car that transported us to a beautiful botanical garden. As we transited the chasm between two mountains on our way to the garden, I spotted a vehicle bridge, one of the tallest I’ve seen. Of course, I made sure to capture several views and vowed to find out the details of this high bridge.

The bridge forms part of the VR1, Madeira’s main ring road. It was completed in 1994 and was designed by engineer António José Luís dos Reis. It is 900 ft (274.5 m) long and stands 460 ft (140 m) above the João Gomes Stream that flows in the canyon below. Though I couldn’t see both ends of the bridge from the cable car, I learned that the bridge approaches tunnels on both sides of the chasm.

Beneath the bridge, other roadways traverse the chasm as well, but the VR1 connects the island’s capital city to the western part of the island. There is no pedestrian crossing on the bridge which is designed with a pre-stressed concrete box girder, single-span design. The deck is supported by two pylons, each of which is about 230 ft (70 m) tall.

The bridge and the river it spans are both named after João Gomes, a local farmer who owned the land where the bridge was built. Gomes was a popular figure in Madeira, and his name was chosen for the bridge to honor his contributions to the community. I couldn’t find much information available about João Gomes, but it is clear that he was a well-respected member of the Madeira community. He was known for his generosity and his willingness to help others. He was also a strong advocate for the farmers of Madeira, and he worked to improve their lives.

One of the advantages of my Samsung S23U cell phone is the 10x zoom. As we departed Madeira, I spotted the bridge, only one pilon visible in the canyon. The city of Madeira grew upward on both of the mountains that created the canyon and the need for the bridge.

John Steiner