Friendship Bridge, International road bridge in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, and Ciudad del Este, Paraguay.
The Friendship Bridge is a concrete deck-arch road bridge over the Paraná River between Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este. Its deck runs 552.4 m, carried by a 303 m arch rising 78 m, with slender vertical struts above the arch and pale railings along the roadway. The main span between the bank pylons measures 2 x 108.7 m.
The construction treaty was signed on 29 May 1956 by Brazil and Paraguay, and a commission for the project was created on 14 November 1956. Work began in 1959. A symbolic inauguration took place in September 1961 with presidents Juscelino Kubitschek and Alfredo Stroessner, and the bridge opened to traffic on 27 March 1965 under Castelo Branco and Stroessner.
The bridge symbolizes bilateral cooperation between Brazil and Paraguay, facilitating economic exchange and strengthening diplomatic relations between the two nations since its inauguration in 1965.
The bridge serves as a major commercial route on the BR-277 highway, handling significant import and export traffic between Brazil and Paraguay, particularly for Ciudad del Este's trade activities.
The steel falsework for the main arch, 157.30 metres long and weighing 1,200 tonnes, was assembled and tested at Volta Redonda, then dismantled and hauled 1,700 kilometres to the site; roads and small bridges had to be widened and reinforced along the way.
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