Walking across
819 metres over the strait.
Rodrigo Soldon from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — CC BY 2.0 · Peccini — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Amnemona — CC BY 2.0
The Hercílio Luz Bridge is the symbol of Florianópolis, a city that lies mostly on Santa Catarina Island in southern Brazil; it was the first bridge to link the island to the mainland, and it is the longest suspension bridge in Brazil. Governor Hercílio Luz ordered it to secure the city's place as state capital at a time when its people depended on ferries; work began in 1922 and it opened on 13 May 1926, but Luz died before he could see it finished. It is about 819 metres long in all, with a central suspended span of 339 metres. It was designed by an American firm and built by the American Bridge Company with materials all brought from the United States, and it has an unusual feature: the steel truss that stiffens the roadway runs above it and meets the suspension chains, giving the bridge its distinctive shape. The bridge closed in 1991 for safety reasons and stayed shut for nearly thirty years, reopening on 30 December 2019 after a full restoration in which its whole suspension system was replaced. You can walk or cycle across free at any time, and it closes to cars at weekends, becoming a promenade. It looks finest at sunset and then lit up at night, seen from the island's waterfront.
819 metres over the strait.
Seen from the waterfront.
A rare design.
Between Santa Catarina Island and the mainland, central Florianópolis
Yes. The pedestrian and cycle paths are open at any time and free, and the bridge is pedestrian-only at weekends.
