Tampico Bridge
# Tampico Bridge

The Tampico Bridge (Spanish: Puente Tampico) is a vehicular cable-stayed bridge connecting the Mexican states of Tamaulipas and Veracruz in eastern Mexico.

## Geography

The bridge crosses the Pánuco River near the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

It connects the city of Tampico in Tamaulipas and Pueblo Viejo Municipality in Veracruz.

## Design and engineering

The bridge has been in service since 1988 and was designed by Professor Modesto Armijo from COMEC, a Mexican engineering company. It was designed to withstand the severe Atlantic hurricanes from the Gulf of Mexico.

The bridge uses an orthotropic steel deck girder for a central section of the 360 metres (1,180 ft) long main span, while the rest of the main span and the short lateral spans are a prestressed concrete girder. Both steel and concrete deck girders have the same external shape. This original design principle was later used for the 756-metre (2,480 ft) main span of the Pont de Normandie, a cable-stayed bridge in Normandy, France.

The dynamic analysis of the bridge under turbulent cyclonic winds, as well as the revision of the structural project, and the geometry plus stress control of the bridge during erection, were achieved by Alain Chauvin from Sogelerg, using the French "Scanner" computer program.

## Toll

The bridge is tolled by Caminos y Puentes Federales, which charges cars 32 pesos to use it.

