Largest European footbridge opens on Costa del Sol’s Senda Litoral

THE much awaited Guadalhorce footbridge has opened on Malaga’s coastal pathway.

The largest pedestrian bridge in Europe, measuring 270 metres, was inaugurated on Sunday and represents the main landmark of the Senda Litoral.

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The bridge will allow pedestrians easy passage over the Guadalhorce nature reserve, an area of environmental importance.

At the opening ceremony, Junta President, Juanma Moreno, said: “This is a new landmark for the city of Malaga. They said it wouldn’t be possible because of the environmental impact, but with ingenuity, audacity, talent and will, this has become a reality.”

More than 200 tonnes of Scots pine wood from Scandinavia and almost 15 tonnes of stainless steel have been used in the bridge’s construction.

The project cost €1.6 million euros, a burden shared equally by Malaga’s city council and the provincial government.

To verify the resistance and stability of the footbridge, a wind tunnel test was carried out to determine the behaviour of the structure in the face of extreme weather.

The new bridge is another step closer to the completion of the Senda Litoral project, which aims to link Nerja, Malaga, and Manilva with a wooden boardwalk that will cover 180km of coastline.

Once completed, this long-distance path will be a major tourist attraction for the Costa del Sol, and for Andalucia.

This new footbridge currently permits users to walk 120 kilometres of the Malaga coastline.