Castilla–La Mancha Bridge

The Castilla–La Mancha Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge in Talavera de la Reina, Spain.

History and description

Promoted by the Regional Government of Castile-La Mancha, the foundation stone was laid in November 2007. It was opened on 17 October 2011. The building companies were Sacyr, Aglomancha and J. Bárcenas.
Standing 192 m high, it was the tallest cable-stayed bridge in Spain upon the time of its inauguration. It features 152 wire ropes.
With a total cost of nearly €74M, it was widely considered a waste of money in the media. With the opening of the so-called Variante Suroeste of the in March 2015, the bridge—via the Ronda del Tajo—is expected to finally help to drive the heavy-duty vehicle traffic out of the city center. As the bridge carried little traffic, it was often referred to as "the bridge to nowhere."
While strictly prohibited, since 2016, multiple incidents related to illegal climbers have been reported.
On 13 October 2024, a 26-year-old British free-climber, Lewis Stevenson died after falling while climbing the bridge after falling ill; a coroner later ruled the death accidental. Stevenson was accompanied by a 24-year-old, both had reportedly traveled to the area to create content for social media.
In the third decade of the 21st century, it was often used as a drinking place or a place for illegal automobile racing.