THE BRIDGE REOPENING ITS DOORS TO ITS INHABITANTS

With our group we investigated its history and realized that:

In 1884 the royal bridge was inaugurated, the first suspension bridge over the Magdalena river which provided a service to the region for a long time and years later it collapsed to make way for two modern diaducts:

El Ferreo opened to the public in 1930 and another pedestrian vehicle that we currently know as the Mariano Ospina Perez bridge inaugurated by the president who bore the same name on January 5, 1950.

This bridge deals an important blow to the cultural, political and historical dynamics in Girardot and its region. By intertwining various productive population sectors (Tocaima, La Mesa, Apulo, Ibague, Espinal. Nilo, Melgar, Fusagasuga, Villa Rica among others) from its construction until the Carmen de Apicala bypass was opened, all the traffic from Bogotá to the South East of the country passed through the bridge, however today it continues to be a route for travelers coming from Tolima and the southern departments of the country bound for the City and its surroundings and the Capital, in ancient times when the royal bridge was still in operation a toll was paid or rather the collection of the famous bridge for the bringing of livestock, agricultural products among others.

At that time, I helped to repair the streets of the bridge, the highway and urban sector, but above all for the construction of the first hospital, but due to complaints and demonstrations from the inhabitants of Girardot, Flanders and other nearby sectors, after the destruction of the royal bridge, and the construction of the bridge, this payment was canceled, notoriously affecting its surroundings due to lack of maintenance.

This construction was carried out by the company SIR W.G Armstrong whitworth & company limitea, during the administration of the Cundinamarcan railway with those of Tolima and Huila