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
Coordinates35°20′42″N 40°09′04″E / 35.34500°N 40.15111°E / 35.34500; 40.15111
CrossedEuphrates river
LocaleDeir ez-Zor, Syria
Characteristics
DesignSuspension
Total length500 m (1,600 ft)
Height36 m (118 ft)
Longest span105 m (344 ft)
No. of spans4
History
Construction end1927
Collapsed2013 (destroyed)
Location
Map

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

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Former Deir ez-Zor suspension bridge crossing the Euphrates
 
Cables and pedestrian deck of the former suspension bridge

The iron/steel pedestrian bridge was built in 1927, by the French construction company Fougerolle (then-under Le Soliditit Françs), during the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon period (1920−1941).

The Deir ez-Zor suspension bridge was destroyed in May 2013, from shelling by Syrian Army forces during the Syrian Civil War.[1]

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.[2] 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.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Allawy, Firas. "River of Blood". Aljumhuriya.net. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  2. ^ Syria Deeply.org: Covering the Crisis blog — "Crossing the Bridge of Death in Deir Ezzor"; 15 November 2013; accessed 24 August 2015.
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  Media related to Deir ez-Zor Suspension Bridge at Wikimedia Commons