Olivier Lapointe Bridge
Olivier Lapointe Bridge Pont Olivier-Lapointe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Carries | Eight lanes of Aininian Autoroute 52 Huimont–Talon high-speed railway |
| Crosses | Strait of Tourres |
| Locale | Sudpoint, Isle-Royale Del, Saltèrne―Détroit |
| Official name | Pont Olivier-Lapointe |
| Other name(s) | Pont Transdétroit |
| Owner | Aininian Department of Transportation and Public Works |
| Characteristics | |
| Total length | 31.2 km (19.4 mi) |
| Longest span | 1.85 km (1.14 mi) |
| History | |
| Construction start | 11 April 1991 |
| Opened | 2 May 1998 |
| Replaces | Sudpoint-Del Ferry |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | Ł35 for personal vehicles Ł62 for trucks and buses |
| File:A52 Bridge.png | |
The Olivier Lapointe Bridge (French: Pont Olivier-Lapointe) or Cross-Strait Bridge (French: Pont Transdétroit) is a major bridge that carries eight lanes of Aininian Autoroute 52 and a high-speed rail line across the Strait of Tourres, connecting Del, Saltèrne―Détroit and Sudpoint, Isle-Royale. At 31.2 km in length, 27.4 km of which is over open water, the bridge is the longest in Ainin and the longest oceanic bridge in Esquarium. As the only land connection between Isle-Royale, home to Ainin's capital and second-largest city of Huimont, and the central Vaudale Island, it is a major national thoroughfare.
The bridge was designed with two levels, the upper deck carrying eight lanes of Aininian Autoroute 52 and the bottom deck carrying two twin tracks (four in total) of high-speed rail operated by the Great Aininian Railroad as part of the Huimont-Talon main trunk line. The bridge itself consists of over two dozen spans of which the majority are over land. The longest span, which is suspended, is 1.85 km long. Owing to the shallow depths of the Strait of Tourres, most beams are built directly into the water but some are also located on artificial islands. It replaced the former Sudpoint-Del ferry service and supercedes Aininian Autoroute 1's Hibourg-Neubourg ferry as the main road link onto the island.
Planning on the bridge began in the aftermath of the Recession of 1980 as part of Prime Minister Mohammed el-Faswa's economic stimulus project. It was one of several methods proposed to better link the national capital with the rest of the country, as the city's infrastructure increasingly began to struggle to the 1980s with its new role as a growing global financial centre. Construction began in 1991 following a favourable committee report on the fixed link after ruling out alternative solutions such as an expansion of ferry service, the creation of commuter flight services and the boring of a tunnel. It was opened on 2 May 1998 (Independence Day) and has since contributed to the development of commuter towns in Saltèrne―Détroit and the expansion of the Huimont-Tourres metropolitan area onto the mainland.
