Tienditas Bridge

Bridge in Venezuela–Norte de Santander, Colombia

7°52′36″N 72°27′09″W / 7.876726°N 72.452541°W / 7.876726; -72.452541Carries6 divided lanes and pedestriansCrossesTáchira RiverLocaleTáchira, Venezuela–Norte de Santander, ColombiaOfficial namePuente Internacional TienditasHistoryConstruction startJanuary 24, 2014Construction endFebruary 2016OpenedNot openStatisticsDaily traffic0 vehicles per dayLocation Map

Tienditas International Bridge (Spanish: Puente Internacional Tienditas) is a vehicular and pedestrian bridge connecting Táchira, Venezuela with Norte de Santander, Colombia.

History

The bridge's construction began on January 24, 2014^[1] and was planned to take no longer than 20 months. The costs were estimated around $32,000,000 and was split equally between the Venezuelan and Colombian governments.

It is the fifth international bridge between the two countries. The bridge itself actually consists of three approximately 280-metre parallel bridges built over the Táchira River, two bridges with three lanes in each direction and a pedestrian bridge. Immigration and customs facilities are located on each side of the bridge.

The crossing was completed in February 2016, but due to tensions between Colombia and Venezuela since 2015 regarding smuggling, the bridge has not been opened to traffic.^[2]^[3]

Venezuela Aid Live

On February 22, 2019, a benefit concert was held on the Colombian side of the bridge to raise awareness and money towards humanitarian aid for Venezuela^[4] and to pressure for the reopening of the border so humanitarian aid could enter Venezuela.^[5] The Venezuelan government announced that it would also hold a concert on its side of the bridge, but it was later moved to a different location.

References

^ S.A. "Inicia construcción de puente Las Tienditas que unirá a Cúcuta con San Antonio, Venezuela". El Pais. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
^ "How a bridge between Colombia and Venezuela became part of a propaganda fight". CBC News. February 15, 2019.
^ Opinión, Diario la. "Tienditas, el puente de 40 millones de dólares que no han estrenado". La Opinión.
^ "Venezuela Aid Live Press Release No. 1, 15 Feb. 2019" (PDF) (Press release). Virgin. 2019-02-15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
^ Venezuela Aid Live