EFE reports that Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Thursday (January 5) received a Guinness record certifying a suspension bridge in western Mexico as the world’s highest. The honor was bestowed on the Baluarte Bicentennial Bridge, which is supported by 152 steel suspenders, has a central, cable-stayed span of 520 meters (1,705 feet), a total length of 1,124 meters (3,685 feet) and a width of 19.8 meters (65 feet).
Built at a world-record structural height of 403.4 meters (1,320 feet), its four lanes extend over a jagged stretch of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range known as the Devil’s Backbone, which links Durango and the neighboring coastal state of Sinaloa.
COMMENT: The bridge is part of the Durango-Mazatlan highway, built at a cost of more than 20 billion pesos ($1.46 billion) and the most significant road project during Calderon’s six-year term, which began in December 2006, the transportation ministry said in a statement. The Baluarte Bicentennial Bridge will have a price tag of 2.18 billion pesos ($158.7 million). The span is nearly 86% complete and is scheduled to be finished by the end of January.
