The General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge is located on Lake Maracaibo, in western Venezuela. The bridge connects Maracaibo with much of the rest of the country. It is named after General Rafael Urdaneta, a Venezuelan hero in their War of Independence. Lake Maracaibo is a large body of water in northwestern Venezuela. ... The city of Maracaibo, founded in 1571, is the capital of the State of Zulia and is Venezuelas second largest population center. ... Hero of the latin american war for independence, Rafael José Urdaneta y Faría was born on October 24th in 1788, in the province of Maracaibo in Venezuela from an aristocratic family of spanish descent. ...

Made of concrete, it spans 8.7 kilometers. The bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that carries only vehicles. The competition to design the bridge started in 1957 and was won by Riccardo Morandi, an Italian. Construction was done by several companies. They included: Grün & Bilfinger, Julius Berger, Bauboag AG, Philipp Holzmann AG, Precomprimido C.A., Wayss & Freytag and K Ingeniería. A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer) (symbol: km) is a unit of length equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words khilia = thousand and metro = count/measure). ... 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

It was opened on 25 August 1962 by then president of Venezuela Romulo Betancourt. August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello (February 22, 1908 – September 28, 1981), the father of Venezuelan democracy, was President of Venezuela from 1945 to 1948 and again from 1959 to 1964. ...

In April 1964 parts of the bridge collapsed after a ship collision. 1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The construction of a second bridge is planned, but is unlikely to occur.

External links

• Structurae: General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge
• Info on Maracaibo including the bridge
• http://www.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0015182