The incredible Rio-Antirrio Bridge- Greece
A big part any road trip is the chance to marvel at and drive on some of the greatest feats of mankinds enginnering- a few weeks ago we conquered the epic driving road of the Transfăgărăşan pass, read our blog about it Here and today Greece had thrown its own road trip challenge into the mix!
The bridge which crosses the Gulf of Corinth is a true marvel of the modern engineering world!
The Rio-Antirrio Bridge, that connects mainland Greece to the Peloponnesian Peninsula.
The bridge is second in size only to the one in southern France at Milau (which just became a must drive!)
Although this status is contentious due to the fact that the cable-stays on the Milau Viaduct are assisted at one point by bearings, whereas the Greek bridge is supported purely by cable stays.
So as you can imagine the people of Greece refer to their bridge as the world’s longest bridge, a claim that is disputed by the French, who insist that their bridge, is the world’s longest.
Who evers bridge is the longest – we don’t really care. It’s a stunning piece of enginnering offering up stunning views of this coast!
Although it’s not just its huge span and sheer length that has caused the Rio-Antirrio Bridge to be deemed as being a true marvel in the engineering world.
Apart from overcoming the inevitable engineering problems of constructing a structure with such a huge span, engineers had the additional battle with water.
The bridge is also built on an area of seismic activity and unusual steps were taken on the seabed to help overcome this problem. The foundations are constructed upon levelled gravel beds which are designed to absorb the shocks and earth movements.
As the whole Gulf of Corinth is on a tectonic plates and each side moves apart from the other at a rate of 30 mm per year.
Having crossed the bridge we meananderd along the coast road passing beautiful snap shots of the sea as we traveled, arriving eventually at our destination of Diakofto (N38.201931 E22.193756)
Finding a shaded spot on the pebble beach, only a few hundred meters away from the harbour and the busy bustling town, with bars, restaurants and shops …..
Another chance to enjoy the great weather that we are currently experiencing……
Paul.