San Roque González de Santa Cruz Bridge, International road-rail bridge between Posadas, Argentina and Encarnación, Paraguay.
San Roque González de Santa Cruz Bridge is a road and rail crossing over the Paraná River linking Argentina and Paraguay, carrying both cars and trains on the same structure. The bridge uses cable support and consists of a central span over the water with approach sections on either side to reach the two cities.
Construction of the bridge started in 1981 as a compensation project related to a major dam built in the region. It opened to traffic in 1990 and created the first permanent land link between these two countries.
The bridge is named after Roque González de Santa Cruz, a Jesuit missionary born in Asunción who founded the reductions that became Posadas and Encarnación, and who was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1988. Its Guaraní name is Yvovorasa Tetãpavẽgua Roque González de Santa Cruz Marangatu.
The bridge is open to cars, trucks, and trains every day with clearly marked lanes for both directions. You will need your travel documents as this is an international border crossing, and wait times for inspections are common during busy periods.
The bridge won the Premio Internacional Puente de Alcántara for the most outstanding public work of 1989–1990. Its construction was also marked by a financial scandal: in 1990 ministers authorized compensation to the Impregilo-led consortium, a payout the Tribunal de Cuentas de la Nación later declared illegal, finding the claimed state coercion fabricated.
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