Deir ez-Zor suspension bridge
The Deir ez-Zor suspension bridge (Arabic: جسر دير الزور المعلق) was a pedestrian suspension bridge crossing the Euphrates River, in the city of Deir ez-Zor in north-eastern Syria.
Deir ez-Zor suspension bridge جسر دير الزور المعلق | |
|---|---|
 Deir ez-Zor bridge, with suspension cables and Euphrates | |
| Coordinates | 35°20′42″N 40°09′04″E |
| Crosses | Euphrates river |
| Locale | Deir ez-Zor, Syria |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Suspension |
| Total length | 500 m (1,600 ft) |
| Height | 36 m (118 ft) |
| Longest span | 105 m (344 ft) |
| No. of spans | 4 |
| History | |
| Construction end | 1927 |
| Collapsed | 2013 (Destroyed) |
| |
The former footbridge connected, across the Euphrates River, the Levant region and the main section of the city on the southern bank, with Upper Mesopotamia region and the eastern section of the city on the northern bank.
History
The iron/steel pedestrian bridge was built in 1927, by the French construction company Fougerolle (then-under Le Soliditit Françs), during the French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon period (1920−1941).
The Deir ez-Zor suspension bridge was destroyed in May 2013, from shelling by the Assad Regime Forces (Syrian Army) forces during the Syrian Civil War, where they had destroyed all the bridges in the city to cut the supply way to the Free Syrian army.[1][2]
After the suspension bridge was destroyed, the Siyasiyeh Bridge became the last entry route across the Euphrates to the western section of the city and the adjoining province of Hasakeh. However the locally renamed "bridge of death" was sufficiently dangerous to attacks that only one vehicle could speed across the bridge at a time during night time darkness.[1] It was destroyed in the autumn of 2014, being blown up as a result of the battle between the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham and the Syrian Army.
See also
- Deir ez-Zor clashes (2011–14)
- Battle of Deir ez-Zor – in 1941, during World War II
References
- Syria Deeply.org: Covering the Crisis blog — "Crossing the Bridge of Death in Deir Ezzor"; 15 November 2013; accessed 24 August 2015.
- "Breakingnews.sy: :Deir ez-Zor bridge destroyed"". Archived from the original on 2017-10-19. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
External links
