President Guillermo Billinghurst Bridge, Road bridge in Puerto Maldonado, Peru
The President Guillermo Billinghurst Bridge is a steel road bridge that crosses the Madre de Dios River in Puerto Maldonado, in the Amazon region of southeastern Peru. It runs along Route 30C and links the city to communities that lie on the far bank, where no other fixed crossing exists.
Before the bridge opened in 2011, ferries and river boats were the only way to cross the Madre de Dios, often leaving people and goods stranded for days during floods. Its construction ended a long period of unreliable river crossings for this part of the Amazon.
The bridge carries the name of Guillermo Billinghurst, a Peruvian president known in the early 1900s for pushing social reforms. Locals cross it every day, and for many communities in the area it represents the main link to the rest of the country.
The bridge itself stays open throughout the year, but the roads leading to and from it can become difficult in the rainy season, so checking conditions along Route 30C before setting out is a good idea. Anyone heading further into the areas beyond the river should plan to travel early in the day.
The Madre de Dios River is known for some of the most extreme seasonal water level changes in the Peruvian Amazon, which meant the bridge had to be built high enough to stay clear of floodwaters that can rise dramatically. This makes it one of the more demanding engineering projects carried out in this part of Peru.
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