The Maria Pia Bridge is a railway bridge built in 1877, and attributed to Gustave Eiffel, situated over the Portuguese northern municipalities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia.
Maria Pia Bridge, Porto, Portugal
The Maria Pia Bridge during construction: the two halves of the arch have been connected, but their weight is still supported by cables.
A view of the Maria Pia Bridge in 1877
Another view between 1900 and 1910, showing the anchorages in cliffside of Seminário
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway network, most famously the Garabit Viaduct. He is best known for the world-famous Eiffel Tower, designed by his company and built for the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris, and his contribution to building the Statue of Liberty in New York. After his retirement from engineering, Eiffel focused on research into meteorology and aerodynamics, making significant contributions in both fields.
Eiffel in 1888, photographed by Félix Nadar
The Bordeaux bridge, Eiffel's first major work
The Budapest Nyugati railway station
The Maria Pia Bridge