Ponte Metálica, Historic pier in Fortaleza, Brazil

Ponte Metálica is a long, low iron structure running out over the water at the end of Avenida Tamandaré, in Fortaleza. It stands on many evenly spaced vertical posts that form an open base beneath a flat deck, which widens near the shore into a raised rectangular platform topped by a flat, overhanging roof. Its ironwork and decking are weathered dark brown and grey.

Construction of the iron Ponte Metálica, with a wooden deck, began on 18 December 1902 and it opened on 26 May 1906, directed by the engineer Hildebrando Pompeu and the Scotsman Robert Grow Bleasby. Because the metal structure was compromised, it was rebuilt in concrete by Francisco Sabóia de Albuquerque and reopened on 24 February 1929 as Viaduto Moreira da Rocha, honouring the then president of Ceará. It served as Fortaleza's port until the 1950s.

The pier's name comes from its iron structure and wooden deck, built from 1902 and opened in 1906 under engineer Hildebrando Pompeu and the Scotsman Robert Grow Bleasby. Rebuilt in concrete in 1929, it was renamed Viaduto Moreira da Rocha after the then president of Ceará. The Pavilhão Atlântico served as a waiting room and restaurant for passengers.

The pier sits at the end of Avenida Tamandaré, in the Poço da Draga area, where the old warehouses and fuel barrels once stood. Visitors walk out along the deck to look back at the city shoreline and the sea; the flat-roofed platform near the landward end shelters the walkway. Access is on foot from the avenue.

The iron structure with a wooden deck opened on 26 May 1906, built under the Ceará engineer Hildebrando Pompeu and the Scotsman Robert Grow Bleasby. Because the metal deteriorated, it was rebuilt in concrete by Francisco Sabóia de Albuquerque and reopened on 24 February 1929 as the Viaduto Moreira da Rocha, named after the then president of Ceará.