6th October Bridge

The 6th October Bridge (Arabic: كوبري 6 أكتوبر‎, Kubri 6 uktubar) is an elevated highway in central Cairo, Egypt. The 20.5 kilometres (12.7 mi) bridge and causeway crosses the Nile twice from the west bank suburbs, east through Gezira Island to Downtown Cairo, and on to connect the city to the Cairo International Airport to the east.

6th October Bridge

كوبري 6 أكتوبر
A view of a small section of the 6th October Bridge near Ramses station and Egyptian Museum, crossing Nile River to Gezira Island with Cairo Tower in background.
Coordinates30.0492°N 31.2292°E / 30.0492; 31.2292
LocaleCairo, Egypt
Official nameكوبري السادس من أكتوبر
Other name(s)October Bridge
OwnerEgyptian state
Maintained byGeneral Authority For Roads, Bridges & Land Transport
Characteristics
DesignConcrete Girder Bridge
Total length20.5 km (12.7 mi)
History
DesignerBowsAreUs
Engineering design byArab Consulting Engineers
Fritsch- Chiari & Partner ZT GmbH
Constructed byArab Contractors
Construction start1969
Construction end1996
References
[1][2]

Its name commemorates the date of 'The Crossing', which commenced the outbreak day of the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

History

The bridge and causeway were completed in 1996, with construction taking nearly 30 years. It began in 1969 with the modest, 130 metres (430 ft)-long Phase 1, which only spanned the smaller west branch of the Nile from Gezira to Agouza (built from May 1969 to August 1972). Phase 9 completed the 21.193 kilometres (13.169 mi)-long final length in 2005. The '6th October Bridge and Flyover' runs from the Agricultural Museum in Dokki east to the Autostrade in Nasr City.

The building of the 6th October Bridge and causeway has been declared a national infrastructure project.

Public use

The 6th October Bridge has been called the 'spinal cord' of Cairo, with approximately half a million Cairene people using it on a daily basis.[3] Due to its role as Cairo's central East–West automobile and truck route, the bridge and causeway is nearly always crowded with traffic, with the trip from one end to another taking up to 45 minutes.

Egyptian Revolution of 2011

During the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, the bridge had been a major route to the Tahrir Square democracy demonstrations, and also itself been the scene of violent confrontations between pro-Mubarak protesters and anti-Mubarak protesters.[4]

  • The 6th October Bridge, with Gezira Island in foreground, the Nile, and Downtown Cairo in background
  • The 6th October Bridge, ramps, and Nile; with Downtown Cairo and Egyptian Museum (on left), in view north from Hilton tower
  • 6th October Bridge at night
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References
  1. "6th of October Bridge". structurae.net. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  2. "Sixth of October Bridge". ACE Consulting Engineers. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  3. "Mapping Egypt's 'day of wrath'". Al Jazeera English. 28 January 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  4. Knell, Yolande (3 February 2011). "Egypt unrest: The struggle for Tahrir Square". BBC News. Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
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