Bacunayagua Bridge

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Bacunayagua Bridge
Puente Bacunayagua
Matanzas, Cuba
(360) feet high / (110) meters high
374 foot span / 114 meter span
1960

BacunayaguaCrystalMartel.jpg

Image by Crystal Martel.


The highest bridge on the Caribbean island of Cuba, the Bacunayagua bridge is a stylish and classy polygonal arch bridge with two rib spans consisting of 4 tapered concrete beams. An observation area offers great views of the bridge.

Although Bacunayagua was the highlight of his career, Latin American engineer Luis Saenz designed several bridges in Cuba that showed his talent with concrete including the Canimar River arch bridge, the Cuyaguateje post tensioned beam bridge and the Tuinicu frame bridge. Born in Havana, Saenz received his civil engineering degree from the University of Havana and a BS in Metallurgical Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn before starting an architectural engineering firm in several Central American countries. He primarily worked out of the San Juan, Puerto Rico and Miami, Florida offices. Saenz was said to have always started his designs with an accurate free hand sketch to keep his bridges light and aesthetically pleasing.