Restoration of the upper deck of the Luiz I Bridge

Heritage rehabilitation goes beyond merely restoring buildings; it also involves adapting infrastructures to the demands of contemporary life. Among these infrastructures, the civil engineering “works of art” — bridges — stand out for their visibility and symbolic importance. Designing a bridge for a civil engineer is akin to a pianist mastering technique to create a sensitive artwork where science and aesthetics are meticulously balanced. Intervening on an existing bridge intensifies this responsibility, requiring an interpretation that respects the original work while preserving its integrity and authentic reading.

This philosophy guided the intervention on Porto’s Luiz I Bridge to accommodate the Metro passage, summarized in this edition by Prof. Aníbal Costa, one of the researchers from the Department of Civil Engineering. The challenge was to “rewrite the score” of the bridge by understanding the original design, formal and urban strategies, and past interventions including maintenance and the surgical works by Prof. Edgar Cardoso.

By enhancing the performance of each structural element — beams, girders, and rivets — the bridge’s robustness was reinforced without compromising its original shape or character. This intervention stands as a prime example of structural engineering combined with heritage preservation, providing an essential lesson for future “surgeons” of bridges tasked with balancing contemporary needs with the grandeur of the original masterpiece.