Juscelino Kubitschek bridge
Ponte Juscelino Kubitschek
Interesting facts
- Budgeted at 40 million reais in 1998, the bridge ended up costing about 160 million, prompting several lawsuits over its design and costs.
- Each of the three arches is assembled from 69 steel modules fabricated in Ipatinga, in the state of Minas Gerais.
- While the arches were erected, nine temporary towers and some 1,300 tonnes of provisional steelwork held each 240-metre span in place.
- The four main foundation blocks each measure about 23 by 30 metres and sit just below the surface of the lake.
- The deck hangs from 48 steel cables, and 51 electronic sensors monitor how the structure behaves.
- Boats on Lake Paranoá pass beneath it with about 18 metres of clearance.
- Locals call it the Ponte JK or the Third Bridge, and it was originally proposed under the name Ponte do Mosteiro.
- Public prosecutors later argued that the original design fell short of the far shore and needed a 144-metre extension.
Why it is worth it
Three white steel arches leap across Lake Paranoá in Brasília, each crossing the roadway diagonally so that together they look like a stone skipping over the water. The Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge, opened in December 2002, gave the capital of Brazil a new crossing and a new landmark on the water.
The bridge was designed by the architect Alexandre Chan with the structural engineer Mário Vila Verde, and built between 2000 and 2002. It is 1,200 metres long, with three spans of 240 metres each. Its deck, 24 metres wide, is carried by the three asymmetrical arches, which rise to about 60 metres and rest on four pillars standing on the lakebed. Steel cables alternate from one side of the deck to the other, so that as one drives across the cables seem to twist in a spiral plane. The bridge carries two three-lane carriageways and paths for pedestrians and cyclists on both sides. In 2003 it received the Gustav Lindenthal Medal at the International Bridge Conference in Pittsburgh, as well as a Brazilian award for the best steelwork in bridges.
It links the eastern shore of the lake, with the districts of Lago Sul and Paranoá and the airport, to the city centre via the Monumental Axis. The bridge bears the name of Juscelino Kubitschek, president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961 and the main political force behind the creation of Brasília.
Getting there
The bridge crosses Lake Paranoá in Brasília, Federal District, linking Lago Sul with the city centre. The nearest airport is Brasília's Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport (BSB), about 11 km away on the same side of the lake.
Plan your visit
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Nearby places
- Cathedral of Brasília 5.7 km · cathedral
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From the encyclopaedia
Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge, commonly called Ponte JK, is a steel and concrete arch bridge across Lake Paranoá in Brasília, Brazil. It connects the eastern shore of the lake – where Lago Sul, Paranoá and Brasília International Airport are located – to Brasília's city center, via the Monumental Axis. Opened to traffic on December 15, 2002, its distinctive silhouette quickly became a Brasília landmark.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
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