@@MonasteryOfSilence i think there are special prizes for locals, so it's like paying for Attikh odos to go to your job. But not 100% sure on that, someone told me that's how it works over there because i had the exact same though.
@@keksimusultimus4257 Yes that are. But if you have to pay 2 passes per day the costs are still insane. And we are not even counting the fuel costs and car maintenance. You need to be making a LOT of money to use that bridge daily.
Let me tell you how much of a pain this crossing was before the bridge. For what is now a 3 minute drive you needed at least half an hour to 45 minutes to cross with a ferry (considering embarking - disembarking, the 15 minute trip plus the time you waited for enough cars to get to the ferry, so that it's not too empty). Also the waiting time and traffic was massive when many cars were to pass eg in holiday season (I have waited in a three hour traffic jam in Rio). This was part of the main route from western Greece to Athens so imagine you starting to return to Athens and reach Antirrio to find that it's too windy for the ferry to travel...
I crossed this bridge about 10 years ago. I didn't know there was anything special about it, but I did think it was a really cool design! I also remember being shocked at how expensive it was to cross. I guess I understand why it was so expensive now.
Its not that the cost of crossing it is paying back the cost of building and maintaining it. It already is turning a profit. The problem is that, as everything in greece, it has been privatized and the company does what private companies do and robs us all. Its so bad that half the people take the ferries : (
@@iasonaskolyvas9983 Leftist propaganda! Bad, greedy companies robbing people. Greece has one of the largest public sectors in Europe. No wonder why it has one of the largests debts as well. Greece actually needs more privatizing. Tolls are expensive because this bridge is really *high maintenance* . Not to mention the huge cost of building it in the first place.
@@Stathube Have you looked what you just said up? And even still, do you know of any other European country that has privatised roads, railways, airports, normal ports, telecommunications and electricity all together? Do you think it is normal for these companies to buy our infrastructure at low prices and then receive all the profits? Especially when the government is supposed to take up all the risk for their private investment? All these measures decrease the profitability of our government and thus make it more difficult to pay back the debt. Greece used to have a large public sector, but after more than 10 years of austerity this isnt true anymore. I say this is enough already. Our gdp has continually shrank due to these crazy measures. If they want their money back they have to provide some freedom to implement different policies. The current situation is unsustainable
@@iasonaskolyvas9983 You are either completely ignorant or lying on purpose! What do you think Europe is? Soviet Russia? Privatization is the norm! Reducing the *ineffective* public sector in order to improve competitiveness and to decrease public spending is the key. Greek GDP has shrunk not because of privitization but because Greece accumulated a huge dept all these decades primarily thanks to her extremely *large, incompetent and corrupted public sector* ! Besides who do you think had the expertise in building such a bridge? Some state-owned enterprise? Only an international consortium of *private* construction companies could perform such a feat of engineering! Do you really believe that a bunch of civil servants can undertake the difficult task of maintaining the safety and the functionality of such a project? Enough already with this laughable leftish propaganda from the greek 80's!
@@Stathube sooo what you are saying is that when you hire a contractor to build your house, you pay him the money on the contract, and then he gets to own your house? because thats essentially what happened
You should come visit it at some point… you can walk from one side to the other, over a… see-through railing. Stand in the middle looking down, guaranteed air-sickness!
@@MelissaThompson432 Oh, well… in that case, do NOT try to walk it. It's seriously fear-inducing, even if you're not afraid of heights. There are some excellent beaches nearby, though, where you can swim or sunbathe (or have a drink in a beach bar) literally in the shadow of the bridge!
There was a major earthquake during construction that moved the pylons out of alignment and there was a whole operation moving those beasts back into place. This bridge deserves it's own full hour documentary, easy.
Well in that sense almost everyone is a hero. Software engineers, teachers, police officers etc. The technology is evolving and all of us with it! Humankind was always doing it and will do it.
@@519achilles of course they are. (Imagine that people who just manage to get off their bed are called "heros" by some - or as bowie sang: "we can be heros ..." 😅
Well, actually, civil-engineers are the best. You might be right, they don't receive as much credit as they should, but it doesn't negate their usefulness the bit least.
Fun fact: Greek Prime Minister Charilaos Trikoupis didn't manage to construct the Rio-Antirrio bridge, but it was the one who completed the Corinth Canal in 1893, giving huge advantages for the Greek merchant navy. Maybe that's why the Rio-Antirrio bridge was named after his name !!
Thats a very beautifull bridge to cross. Especially when the light conditions are right the wires reflet sunlight in such a way that make it very appealing to watch.
I never thought I would see my hometown on a video like this. That bridge solved a lot of problems for the city and it truly is an engineering achievement. I remember when it first opened for the public, on the first day, only pedestrians were allowed on it, and we all went and walked it to antirio and back.
But, I would say that this bridge deserves a spot on the Mega Projects channel. Because, it sounds like a mega project. Thank you for all the content you put out, robot Simon. Everyone subscribed to the TopTenz channel: "We want more from you Simon!" Simon: "Want more from me, I have 1000 other channels where you'll find new content 400 times a day!" Robot Simon confirmed!
This bridge started in late 90's and gave to the public on May 2004, just 3 months before the Greek Olympic Games 2004 . Nearly 20 years later is still breath taking
sad fact the very high tolls as you said... That's the reason the ferries still work there. Many people and even more the trucks use them because they are way cheaper than the bridge, plus it's a 20 minute break if you are in the middle of a roadtrip. You also get nicer views of the bridge from the ferries ;)
I pass the bridge at least 2 times a month. No, the tolls is not very high compared with ferries. The tolls now is 13,50 euros per pass. If you have the electronic pass of bridge the price is 10,50 euros. The ferries is 7,50 the same price before bridge opens back at 2004. Have in mind that back in 2004 the oil prices was 50% cheaper than now. If the bridge was never builted i think the ferries will cost more than 13,50euros. The time was only the ferries in service the fastest to cross was 40 minutes at best. At bank holidays, Easter and Christmas 2 to 3 hours delay. So no comparison even the price is double high.
@@nikosbarberis918 the tolls are extremely high. When you consider when the bridge built and how many money are coming all these years. Now if someone prefers ferries or the bridge it’s on anyone’s perspective. Also the price of the ferries is rising because the price of the their fuel is higher and because they have capability comparing to the high toll prices.
Time is money. You cannot compare the price only on a "euro" basis you need to take into account how much it costs for you to wait. If you are having a holiday road trip than maybe it's no biggie.
@@519achilles back to August 2004 when bridge opened the unleaded gasoline cost in Greece 0.70euro cent per litre and the diesel 0.50euro cent per litre. At July 2004 one month earlier the ferries cost 7,50 euros per car plus 0.50euros cent per passenger. If you are 4 passengers the total payment was 9,50euros. The time to pass the canal was 40 minutes if you are lucky but the average time was 1 hour Monday to Thursday and weekends,bank holidays, Easter, Christmas the waiting time was 2 to 3 hours in traffic line. Can you imagine if the bridge never builted when the oil barrels cost 100usd and in Greece now is the unleaded gasoline at 1.65 euros per litre and diesel 1.40 euros per litre the price to pass the canal with ferries without any optional way? I think, maybe i am very sure the ferries company's will need more than 15euros per car. Do you now if you are frequently member at epass bridge the price down to 4 per direction? The ferries they don't have such a discounts. You must count all this because is working people to pass the canal not only one or two times a year and curse the moment to pay 13.50 euros. I pass frequently the canal from 1989 and i have stories to tell about ferries.
You can also walk across the bridge. If you ever get the chance, do it. It's trully magnificent and you could fully understand the magnitude of the construction.
@@MIGBMWLOVER it will always be as long as people think it's the fault of world conspiracists and not of our ridiculous socialist believes and policies.
I live in Patras, Greece (right next to Rio). I remember the whole process of this big project from start to finish and I'm happy that people from other countries get to recognize it's quality! *edit* We didn't have to drive all the way around before the bridge, we just used double ended ferry boats from Rio to Antirrio.
You missed that they have a major earthquake during construction. This moved the towers out of alignment. The road deck had to be modified enough to absorb the sideways shift.
It happened when the construction was going over. It's was a magnitude 6.4 at lefkada on 14 August 2003. There is a video from national geographic that refers to it.
As always in Greece, the non-engineering details are quite juicy. Back in 2004, the Economist criticized the bridged as linking "nowhere much to nowhere at all". And indeed, the connecting national at both sides of the bridge were really bad. This has changed now and it has become much quicker (and safer) to travel from Athens to Ioannina. The lack of a train track on the bridge (was on the initial plans, but was finally cut) is an issue. Someone who takes a quick lookat a map, might wonder why someone from Athens would need to drive south to Peloponnese and take the coastal road all the way to Rio, cross the bridge to Antirrio before continuing one north, instead of going along the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth. Well, if you look at the geography closer, you will see that even though you can drive along the north coast (more or less), the terrain is quite mountainous and the road is so windy that it is not worth the trouble.
The economist once criticized conservation efforts for the Sunda clouded leopard because they burdened local industrial development and according to them it _"looked exactly the same as the continental species of clouded leopard"_ , despite of all the molecular and morphological evidence that certified speciation. The Economist should stick to their specialty in economics (which like all social "sciences" is a pseudoscience without a single accurate prediction in the full span of their existence as a discipline) and reserve their opinions from empirical fields like geography and biogeography.
Greek here! Amazing isn’t it! Nice you put all this together!!! I would add (since I recently passed it again) that it IS a MOST beautiful bridge, do add that to your positives! And when one drives along it , it is also amazing because all the pillars become one! One - remark : if you spoke more slowly and clearly it would be a hit! Thanks!!!
You will have to consider the ice there as well as the extreme contraction and expansion because of the significant opposite temerature differences between summer and winter. This bridge is located in Southern Greece so ice is not very regular but when it does occure, the bridge closes because there's big icicles falling from the cables. Of course in Alaska this will be much more regular than in Southern Greece, so you will probably need an even more sophisticated design than this one.
@@unownunknown so you’re saying driving in downtown Athens is a good drive? Cool story bro. But this video is talking about the bridge in Rio. So really you’re just saying a useless comment. But hey, I’m just saying...
I am a little miffed this isn't a Megaprojects after watching Hammy Hamster's Engineering Connections for this bridge. This bridge is absolutely insane.
I grew up in the area (Patras). I can see the bridge from my parents house. It was talked about when I was a kid and I witnessed its building but I never realised it was so complicated.
My dad is from Patra, so we made the trip there by car a lot. Let me tell you: the bridge was a godsend. The other option was a 45 minute ferry ride, and the ferries left every few hours. Or, you'd add a lot of hours to your trip by going via Corinthe's isthmus. I remember seeing the works while it was under construction. The first time we drove across it, it was both amazing, but also somehow disappointing.
Ok as a bus driver I never knew what it took to build that bridge, but now it makes sense since it's too expensive too cross it. But hey, it made our lives easier so kudos to the engineers
That's why Greek authorities should be adopting H instead of Ch in names. Harilaos instead of Charilaos, Holargos instead of Cholargos (a suburb in Athens). Foreigners, especially the British identify and pronunce Ch more like Charles (not as much as Christian) whereas it's H like Henry or Harry.
@@panathatube H would be wrong though, Kh could be more appropriate but then again Kh is for harder sounds more like the Spanish J or the Arabic Kh. The correct form is Ch, just it is in German and just as it has always been for Greek words in either Latin or English. The problem is not with the Ch but with the fact that people just don't know how to pronounce it properly, and that is something that happenes with many such letters in many languages just like with the German Ch or with the Spanish J or the Slavic J which sounds like a Y. So if an American who knows about the Spanish prounciation of J sees one in a Slavic word chances are he will misspronounce it just as the slavic speakers misspronounce the Spanish ones..
What a beautiful bridge and what incredible engineering. I wouldn’t mind paying to drive over it, over and back, but not on a regular basis. I hate toll roads.
It's the most expensice toll in Greece by far from the second. You have to pay 13,50 Euros if you have a car just for one pass. In case that you have a truck you have to pay approximately 30 Euros.
I pass through this beauty every day going to work!On my motorbike of course...I was there"helping" the process of the construction.I m a vts operator at Rio-Antirrio bridge (call sign Rio Traffic).
I haven't seen the prequels either, but I've seen enough parodies, reviews and critiques of them to "get" pretty much any reference you could throw at me.
In 1996 our then Prime Minister set up the terms: "Finish the bridge before the Olympics Opening Ceremony, otherwise, the penalties begin". The engineers managed to do it and one of our best Olympic Athletes, crossed the bridge with the torch in his hands. It was glorious. The year 2004-5 was our peak we ever managed in the last decades, we almost touched Ancient Greece's levels in terms of euphoria at least. We made our forefathers who now reside in Hades, just a little bit proud. That year we won the Euro 2004 in Football, Eurovision and of course Olympics. We were all wandering in the seventh heaven. The nation came so close together and volunteered to help in everything. Such perfect atmosphere you could feel the Greek spirit in the air. I'm not being hyperbolic in the least bit about the condition back then.
The profit from the tolls are given back to cover the cost of the construction, for the first 30 years of its use. The potential profits were very miscalculated and the cost was covered after some years, and now they are making profit. We will see what happens when the 30 years pass (we are about midway now).
When it was built, i saw a documentary about it, mentioning that it can withstand such earthquake magnitude that everything else will be possibly destroyed except the bridge. Cool and scary at the same time
One of the most interesting side projects, amazing engineering. Fourteen Euros (a bit more than $16 US for us Yanks) seems much cheaper than a nearly 300 mile drive.
i crossed the bridge the first day it opened.there were fireworks and the traffic was enormous-half of Greece wanted to pass through that specific day!it took me 2 hours to cross the bridge and arrive at my summer place near Nafpactos..
Yup. It’s a toll bridge, but, it’s worth it. Far more beautiful in real life than the pictures suggest. Of course last time I was there in a severe mid winter freeze they had to close it as 2 meter icicles were falling from the tops of the towers onto the road surface. Ended up spending an extra night in a hotel outside Patras cause half the roads were closed too.
Yeap, ice is a problem in Southern Greece because they aren't used to it, one snowflake and everything stops haha. Northern Greece makes fun of this while they are wearing light jackets in -10 C lol
It's a magnificent piece of engineering, great on the view and makes the journey, just a simple, 3 minutes pass. If you passing for vacation, it is a nice expirience. If you passing for work, as a truck driver for example, it's not affordable. I paid 13 euros for only one pass, returning from vacations with a simple, size, city car. I can't imagine, how would be the cost for a big size truck which have to pass, multiple times per month.
Build a bridge they said. It’ll be fun they said. “They” left out all of the dangerous problems with getting a bridge built in this location. Conveniently they also hired really good engineers
2:41 you can know for certain that if this was a Business Blaze video, that sentence would've been followed by at least a minute long rant by Simon about how he doesn't like Star Wars, and Star Trek is much better. But this is Sideprojects, so Simon must continue without his breakaway from the script.
I really enjoy learning how engineering marvels are constructed. What about the Sydney Opera House, or how the city of Vince was constructed around water. That would be cool!
BEEN THERE AS A CHILD PASSING BY WHEN THEY BEGAN BUILDING IT .... WATCHED HER EVERY DAY WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE AT PATRA .... ...AN AMAZING ENGINEERING ACHIEVEMENT INDEED
You should do a spot about Britain's ill-fated entry into Airships, the R-100 and the R-101. Specifically you should examine the comparison between the private (Vickers) built successful R-100, versus the insanely unsuccessful government built (RAF) R-101..
There was one bit of trivia about the bridge. A few months after it had opened a bolt of lightning hit one of the main suspension wires causing a massive burn and weakening the cable. For safety reasons the bridge was shut down to facilitate the safe replacement of this cable. Maybe someone upstairs did not want this structure there or Zues, in a drunken stupor accidently dropped one his lighning bolts.
After part 1, I gave it a couple of minutes' thought. I guessed expansion joints being large enough to last the life of the bridge. I totally muffed the fuses, though I see a similar system every day on large area interstate signs - there's a designed failure which knocks the sign down at a certain wind speed, but the sign doesn't blow away and become a cause of more damage, and is right there ready to be repaired. My solution to the deep bedrock and liquefaction was rather different, probably because I grew up about five miles from the Huey P. Long bridge in greater New Orleans where we have a similar problem for the bridges across the Mississippi River. "Huey" in particular (and I believe some of the others on the lower Mississippi) is essentially a geo-pontoon bridge below the piers/uprights. That is, the bridge is supported by buoyant forces of the at least partially fluid unconsolidated sediments beneath the bridge. The rest is unrelated to the Rio-Antirro Bridge, but rather related to "Huey"; you may or may not find it entertaining, but I would definitely consider Huey to be at least a "Side Project". The original Huey was built by the Public Belt Railroad in the 1930's, but received considerable support from the State of Louisiana to provide two-lane, 9ft (2.75m) automobile lanes on each side to serve as part of US Highway 90 (formerly the Spanish-American Trail). (Personal note, I had to drive across the original bridge on my learner's permit before my mother would let me take the driving test ca 1980.) It has five piers, supporting a traditional four-pier cantilever bridge at the west bank* end and an arched truss bridge at the east bank end. Between 2006 and 2013, the roadways were expanded to 3 lanes at 3.3m (11ft) per lane, with shoulders on both sides. This was accomplished essentially by building ANOTHER bridge abound the original bridge. New piers were built around the existing piers, the much-wider cantilever and arch sections were designed to tie into the original bridge and were built on the east-bank batture (area that is usually land, but on the river side of the levee), then when they were completed, they were floated out on barges, lifted with strand jacks (that is, massive winches), and welded in place. There were four separate strand jack lifts, corresponding to the span between each upright (except the second from the west bank side which was rather shorter as that span had cantilever sections at each end), and the cantilever sections supported by those spans. \* The use of east bank and west bank is essential. As the Mississippi river runs predominately west to east through greater New Orleans, but undulates along the way, Huey runs north west to south east, with the north west end on the east bank, and the south east end on the west bank. (After a certain incident, I sat on the east bank for several hours and watched the sun rise over the west bank). The only two bridges farther down the Mississippi are the same river crossing from a traffic management view, and constitute the "Crescent City Connection" (CCC). The CCC bridges run almost due east-west, with the west end on the east bank and the east end on the west bank.
I am an engineering student in Greece and the professors in our uni brag about the bridge every other day. I am sick of hearing it but at least it is kind of justified
Nice three seconds of Montreal's new Champlain Bridge. Fun fact! It was determined to be cheaper in the long run to build a whole new bridge than fix the one we already had. They built it, and still haven't figured out fully how to remove the old one.
The NY caisson of the Brooklyn bridge was built upon pilings over 145 years ago. They dug and dug but couldn’t find bedrock as they had with the other caisson, so they compacted sand and hammered pilings into the ground.
I remember when the bridge opened , a year later Japanese bridge engineers came over to study the bridge as they have similar conditions in Japan...
@Dimitrius Didimitrius do u have a link?
Greek person here, never knew about what it took to build the bridge
Αν ενδιαφέρεσαι μαθαίνεις ...
really? My class were "debriefed" in a geography lesson in 5th grade (of elementary scool)
@@Konktg να φανταστώ ήσουν σε καμιά πόλη/χωριό εκεί γύρω; και πια χρονολογία;
@@eternalbgl2695 φέτος δίνω πανελλήνιες, μένω σε προαστιο της Αθήνας
@@Konktg πες το έτσι ότι στο έμαθαν το 2014 (πάνω κάτω) και τρόμαξα.
As a Greek that uses this bridge to go to my beloved village every year, the comment about the 14€ toll killed me 🤣. 100% on point
There are people who are forced to pay the toll twice per day just to go to work, imagine that friend.
@@MonasteryOfSilence i think there are special prizes for locals, so it's like paying for Attikh odos to go to your job. But not 100% sure on that, someone told me that's how it works over there because i had the exact same though.
@@keksimusultimus4257 Yes that are. But if you have to pay 2 passes per day the costs are still insane. And we are not even counting the fuel costs and car maintenance. You need to be making a LOT of money to use that bridge daily.
Γιατί ρε μαλάκα Νιόνιο προτιμάς τα καραβάκια?
@Paladin's Revenge τι ακριβώς είναι η "γεφηρα" ρε τούβλο?
Let me tell you how much of a pain this crossing was before the bridge. For what is now a 3 minute drive you needed at least half an hour to 45 minutes to cross with a ferry (considering embarking - disembarking, the 15 minute trip plus the time you waited for enough cars to get to the ferry, so that it's not too empty). Also the waiting time and traffic was massive when many cars were to pass eg in holiday season (I have waited in a three hour traffic jam in Rio). This was part of the main route from western Greece to Athens so imagine you starting to return to Athens and reach Antirrio to find that it's too windy for the ferry to travel...
let alone that in windy weather and that is to say more often than not, the crossing was not possible!!!
totally true, but i have some fond memories from my childhood, going to my grandparents with the ferry!
Listen to this guy moan...
Mate, swim across then if you don't like it ffs.
been there
done that
@Dimitrius Didimitrius Μην προκαλείς την οργή των αρχαίων γηραιών λέγοντας το όνομά του!
I crossed this bridge about 10 years ago. I didn't know there was anything special about it, but I did think it was a really cool design! I also remember being shocked at how expensive it was to cross. I guess I understand why it was so expensive now.
Its not that the cost of crossing it is paying back the cost of building and maintaining it. It already is turning a profit. The problem is that, as everything in greece, it has been privatized and the company does what private companies do and robs us all. Its so bad that half the people take the ferries : (
@@iasonaskolyvas9983 Leftist propaganda! Bad, greedy companies robbing people.
Greece has one of the largest public sectors in Europe. No wonder why it has one of the largests debts as well. Greece actually needs more privatizing.
Tolls are expensive because this bridge is really *high maintenance* . Not to mention the huge cost of building it in the first place.
@@Stathube Have you looked what you just said up? And even still, do you know of any other European country that has privatised roads, railways, airports, normal ports, telecommunications and electricity all together? Do you think it is normal for these companies to buy our infrastructure at low prices and then receive all the profits? Especially when the government is supposed to take up all the risk for their private investment? All these measures decrease the profitability of our government and thus make it more difficult to pay back the debt. Greece used to have a large public sector, but after more than 10 years of austerity this isnt true anymore. I say this is enough already. Our gdp has continually shrank due to these crazy measures. If they want their money back they have to provide some freedom to implement different policies. The current situation is unsustainable
@@iasonaskolyvas9983 You are either completely ignorant or lying on purpose! What do you think Europe is? Soviet Russia? Privatization is the norm! Reducing the *ineffective* public sector in order to improve competitiveness and to decrease public spending is the key.
Greek GDP has shrunk not because of privitization but because Greece accumulated a huge dept all these decades primarily thanks to her extremely *large, incompetent and corrupted public sector* !
Besides who do you think had the expertise in building such a bridge? Some state-owned enterprise? Only an international consortium of *private* construction companies could perform such a feat of engineering! Do you really believe that a bunch of civil servants can undertake the difficult task of maintaining the safety and the functionality of such a project?
Enough already with this laughable leftish propaganda from the greek 80's!
@@Stathube sooo what you are saying is that when you hire a contractor to build your house, you pay him the money on the contract, and then he gets to own your house? because thats essentially what happened
Possibly the most interesting bridge in the world. Definitely in the top 10....
You should come visit it at some point… you can walk from one side to the other, over a… see-through railing. Stand in the middle looking down, guaranteed air-sickness!
@@skagon_ I can barely go up a flight of stairs....
@@MelissaThompson432 Oh, well… in that case, do NOT try to walk it. It's seriously fear-inducing, even if you're not afraid of heights. There are some excellent beaches nearby, though, where you can swim or sunbathe (or have a drink in a beach bar) literally in the shadow of the bridge!
@@skagon_ I am VERY good with beaches.... ☺
@@MelissaThompson432 Awesome. You now have a vacation destination! 😉
Θανάσης : και θ'ανοιξω ενα παράρτημα στο Ρίο
Έφη : de Janeiro ?
Θανάσης : no, Antirrio
Θανάσης: Από οικονομολόγος, έγινα...ΤΖΑΤΖΙΚΟΛΟΓΟΣ!😂😂😂😂
τί έχουμε εδώ? διαγωνισμό κρυάδας?
@@kflynt2006 αν δε ξέρεις από που είναι αυτό δεν έχεις το δικαίωμα να μιλάς
@@giorgosvog δεν ξερεις ποσο χαιρομαι που δεν ξερω... παντως για καμια αηδια τυπου ρωμα μου μυριζει. χιουμορ για λαχανα.
Τι μου θύμισες τώρα;!
There was a major earthquake during construction that moved the pylons out of alignment and there was a whole operation moving those beasts back into place.
This bridge deserves it's own full hour documentary, easy.
National geographic got you
National Geographic did this 19 years ago
I volunteered in Patra and crossed this bridge to go to Nafpaktos. The bridge and the scenery is absolutely stunning. ❤️
Greetings from Serbia ☺️
Engineers don't get the credit they deserve in day-to-day news reports! They are real heroes, making people's life so much better.
Well in that sense almost everyone is a hero. Software engineers, teachers, police officers etc. The technology is evolving and all of us with it! Humankind was always doing it and will do it.
@@519achilles of course they are.
(Imagine that people who just manage to get off their bed are called "heros" by some - or as bowie sang: "we can be heros ..." 😅
Well, actually, civil-engineers are the best. You might be right, they don't receive as much credit as they should, but it doesn't negate their usefulness the bit least.
Fun fact: Greek Prime Minister Charilaos Trikoupis didn't manage to construct the Rio-Antirrio bridge, but it was the one who completed the Corinth Canal in 1893, giving huge advantages for the Greek merchant navy.
Maybe that's why the Rio-Antirrio bridge was named after his name !!
Thats a very beautifull bridge to cross. Especially when the light conditions are right the wires reflet sunlight in such a way that make it very appealing to watch.
I never thought I would see my hometown on a video like this. That bridge solved a lot of problems for the city and it truly is an engineering achievement. I remember when it first opened for the public, on the first day, only pedestrians were allowed on it, and we all went and walked it to antirio and back.
There is a great little museum on the northern end dedicated to the construction with a miniature scale version. Some amazing pictures in there
But, I would say that this bridge deserves a spot on the Mega Projects channel. Because, it sounds like a mega project. Thank you for all the content you put out, robot Simon.
Everyone subscribed to the TopTenz channel: "We want more from you Simon!"
Simon: "Want more from me, I have 1000 other channels where you'll find new content 400 times a day!"
Robot Simon confirmed!
Few years back, National Geographic call it A Megaproject. There is a Documentary about it
This bridge started in late 90's and gave to the public on May 2004, just 3 months before the Greek Olympic Games 2004 . Nearly 20 years later is still breath taking
sad fact the very high tolls as you said... That's the reason the ferries still work there. Many people and even more the trucks use them because they are way cheaper than the bridge, plus it's a 20 minute break if you are in the middle of a roadtrip. You also get nicer views of the bridge from the ferries ;)
I pass the bridge at least 2 times a month. No, the tolls is not very high compared with ferries. The tolls now is 13,50 euros per pass. If you have the electronic pass of bridge the price is 10,50 euros. The ferries is 7,50 the same price before bridge opens back at 2004. Have in mind that back in 2004 the oil prices was 50% cheaper than now. If the bridge was never builted i think the ferries will cost more than 13,50euros. The time was only the ferries in service the fastest to cross was 40 minutes at best. At bank holidays, Easter and Christmas 2 to 3 hours delay. So no comparison even the price is double high.
@@nikosbarberis918 the tolls are extremely high. When you consider when the bridge built and how many money are coming all these years. Now if someone prefers ferries or the bridge it’s on anyone’s perspective. Also the price of the ferries is rising because the price of the their fuel is higher and because they have capability comparing to the high toll prices.
Time is money. You cannot compare the price only on a "euro" basis you need to take into account how much it costs for you to wait. If you are having a holiday road trip than maybe it's no biggie.
@@519achilles back to August 2004 when bridge opened the unleaded gasoline cost in Greece 0.70euro cent per litre and the diesel 0.50euro cent per litre. At July 2004 one month earlier the ferries cost 7,50 euros per car plus 0.50euros cent per passenger. If you are 4 passengers the total payment was 9,50euros. The time to pass the canal was 40 minutes if you are lucky but the average time was 1 hour Monday to Thursday and weekends,bank holidays, Easter, Christmas the waiting time was 2 to 3 hours in traffic line. Can you imagine if the bridge never builted when the oil barrels cost 100usd and in Greece now is the unleaded gasoline at 1.65 euros per litre and diesel 1.40 euros per litre the price to pass the canal with ferries without any optional way? I think, maybe i am very sure the ferries company's will need more than 15euros per car. Do you now if you are frequently member at epass bridge the price down to 4 per direction? The ferries they don't have such a discounts. You must count all this because is working people to pass the canal not only one or two times a year and curse the moment to pay 13.50 euros. I pass frequently the canal from 1989 and i have stories to tell about ferries.
You have to ask how much the Greek economy turned its pockets inside out to build that bridge and then make your comment …..! Buddy !
You can also walk across the bridge. If you ever get the chance, do it. It's trully magnificent and you could fully understand the magnitude of the construction.
I did it once, but I was too young and I didn't know its full magnificence.
1:05 - Chapter 1 - One troubled waters
3:30 - Chapter 2 - Modern solutions
6:00 - Chapter 3 - Gone with the wind
- Chapter 4 -
- Chapter 5 -
- Chapter 6 -
Wow, what an amazing bridge.
"It's a toll bridge."
Mighty Poseidon, strike down this monument to human hubris!
Its like 13,50€ to pass it with a normal car
@@ketsis9717 guess Greece is still broke
@@SkashTheKitsune imagine passing it every day
@@SkashTheKitsune it will always be in order to pawn all of its resources to everyone who wants it cheap
@@MIGBMWLOVER it will always be as long as people think it's the fault of world conspiracists and not of our ridiculous socialist believes and policies.
I live in Patras, Greece (right next to Rio). I remember the whole process of this big project from start to finish and I'm happy that people from other countries get to recognize it's quality!
*edit* We didn't have to drive all the way around before the bridge, we just used double ended ferry boats from Rio to Antirrio.
or wait quite a few hours for the winds to calm down.it has happened to me..
Happy face
And we were eating souvlaki as we were waiting for the ferry to get full...
You missed that they have a major earthquake during construction. This moved the towers out of alignment. The road deck had to be modified enough to absorb the sideways shift.
Never happened. And I worked on the construction of the bringe as a civil engineer.
It happened when the construction was going over. It's was a magnitude 6.4 at lefkada on 14 August 2003. There is a video from national geographic that refers to it.
@@alextheGreek7 The earthquake happened but I think that the towers didn't move.
I don't know if it moved the towers but it sure shooked them a little bit.
I pass through that bridge every summer and as a child I was so excited to pass that bridge!
Living literally next to it i had no idea it was such an awsome engineering feat. Thank you!
For those who haven't seen it, there is a documentary film in National Geographic regarding the construction of this bridge
As always in Greece, the non-engineering details are quite juicy. Back in 2004, the Economist criticized the bridged as linking "nowhere much to nowhere at all". And indeed, the connecting national at both sides of the bridge were really bad. This has changed now and it has become much quicker (and safer) to travel from Athens to Ioannina. The lack of a train track on the bridge (was on the initial plans, but was finally cut) is an issue.
Someone who takes a quick lookat a map, might wonder why someone from Athens would need to drive south to Peloponnese and take the coastal road all the way to Rio, cross the bridge to Antirrio before continuing one north, instead of going along the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth. Well, if you look at the geography closer, you will see that even though you can drive along the north coast (more or less), the terrain is quite mountainous and the road is so windy that it is not worth the trouble.
The economist once criticized conservation efforts for the Sunda clouded leopard because they burdened local industrial development and according to them it _"looked exactly the same as the continental species of clouded leopard"_ , despite of all the molecular and morphological evidence that certified speciation. The Economist should stick to their specialty in economics (which like all social "sciences" is a pseudoscience without a single accurate prediction in the full span of their existence as a discipline) and reserve their opinions from empirical fields like geography and biogeography.
Beautiful bridge , beautiful surroundings and city! Swimming in Rio (Patras) during summertime is an incredible experience.
Greek here! Amazing isn’t it! Nice you put all this together!!!
I would add (since I recently passed it again) that it IS a MOST beautiful bridge, do add that to your positives! And when one drives along it , it is also amazing because all the pillars become one!
One - remark : if you spoke more slowly and clearly it would be a hit!
Thanks!!!
I am Greek and to be specific i am from Corinth and came across this video. Great info
I live in Alaska and we have a need for this bridge here in Anchorage... I wonder if it will work here...
Probably wouldn't have to go nearly as high or deep, but on the other hand you've got a pretty extreme freeze-thaw cycle to plan for.
Not to mention the upper limit on earthquake intensity is a bit higher up there. The 1964 magnitude 9.2 quake was only 74 miles from Anchorage.
You will have to consider the ice there as well as the extreme contraction and expansion because of the significant opposite temerature differences between summer and winter. This bridge is located in Southern Greece so ice is not very regular but when it does occure, the bridge closes because there's big icicles falling from the cables. Of course in Alaska this will be much more regular than in Southern Greece, so you will probably need an even more sophisticated design than this one.
Engineers are truly incredible! Thank you for the very interesting vid, Simon. \m/
Nice and well explained greetings from 🇬🇷❤️
That's why the University of Patras has one of the best engineering departments in the world
I've passed from this bridge plenty of times and it's indeed amazing the feeling of passing
If you ever get the chance, it’s a great drive from Rio to Delphi.
The whole Greece is a wonderful place for a drive. Just saying...
@@unownunknown so you’re saying driving in downtown Athens is a good drive? Cool story bro. But this video is talking about the bridge in Rio. So really you’re just saying a useless comment. But hey, I’m just saying...
@@kaiyack You know what i mean, don't play it idiot, Just saying...
@@unownunknown your comments are pointless and pedantic. Just saying...
@@kaiyack yeah but I at least know how to write
This particular prime minister is also known for his famous words "Unfortunatelly we are bankrupt"
the worst is that he wasnt the last one!!!
He didn't actually say that
@@marinavam3942ooooooo yes he did
No, this phrase took place many years before the bridge
Έκανε το σιδηροδρομικό δίκτυο όμως! 😋
I am a little miffed this isn't a Megaprojects after watching Hammy Hamster's Engineering Connections for this bridge. This bridge is absolutely insane.
It IS. Pretty sure it's on UA-cam. I remember watching the episode on TV. EDIT: Confused the title with a TV show. Sorry.
@@helenfotopoulou5125 Richard Hammonds Engineering Connections for the Rio-Antirrio bridge is on yt I think XD
One of the dream goals of the great Greek politician, Charilaos Trikoupis!
αυτος εφτιαξε την διωρηγα της Κορινθου
I grew up in the area (Patras). I can see the bridge from my parents house. It was talked about when I was a kid and I witnessed its building but I never realised it was so complicated.
Man talking about Greece builds up my heart
I’ve never been more fascinated by a bridge. Almost as glorious as Simons beard!
My dad is from Patra, so we made the trip there by car a lot. Let me tell you: the bridge was a godsend. The other option was a 45 minute ferry ride, and the ferries left every few hours. Or, you'd add a lot of hours to your trip by going via Corinthe's isthmus.
I remember seeing the works while it was under construction. The first time we drove across it, it was both amazing, but also somehow disappointing.
The bridge towers are also designed to suffer a hit by a medium sized tanker.
Evergreen: _"We're gonna need a bigger boat..."_
We used to get tested on how the bridge was built in uni. SO SO glad that's in the past! I had forgot many of the information.
Great work! I live in Rio, so i was so excited to see this :)
I've been there in 2012 and I happily paid that toll as well as entry fee to the Rion fortress to get some good pictures of it.
Greece has done much more great things, then we know
Yeah, well..it was Vinci
French built it,, germans payed the debts, we just use it XD
@@stth826 2010 is calling and asking to get back its bad jokes.
@@stth826 but just fyi. Germany has made millions out of greek credits
@@gtap8303 that was a cool answer!
Yes, I've seen a documentary about it on national geographic! We cross that bridge every time we want to go to our village at Corfu! Amazing!!
my mother was overlooking the project when she was doing her doctorate in geology
How could see overlook such a tall bridge? Was she on a helicopter?
Yes! Finally! I always thought this bridge was so understated! Thank you!
But the toll costs an absolute fortune, 15€!!!
Ok as a bus driver I never knew what it took to build that bridge, but now it makes sense since it's too expensive too cross it. But hey, it made our lives easier so kudos to the engineers
The name of the bridge is Charilaos Trikoupis(spoken: Hareelaos Treekoopees)
I luv Simon's Anglo pronunciations
Thanks for the proper pronunciation. I'm a stickler for saying words the way they were supposed to be spoken in whichever language they come from. 🤩
Σε ευχαριστω
Δεν ξερω γιατι αλλα με ενοχλει οταν δεν προφερουν κατι σωστα
Καποιοι λενε διορθωστε με στα comments αλλοι παλι οχι
That's why Greek authorities should be adopting H instead of Ch in names. Harilaos instead of Charilaos, Holargos instead of Cholargos (a suburb in Athens). Foreigners, especially the British identify and pronunce Ch more like Charles (not as much as Christian) whereas it's H like Henry or Harry.
@@panathatube H would be wrong though, Kh could be more appropriate but then again Kh is for harder sounds more like the Spanish J or the Arabic Kh.
The correct form is Ch, just it is in German and just as it has always been for Greek words in either Latin or English. The problem is not with the Ch but with the fact that people just don't know how to pronounce it properly, and that is something that happenes with many such letters in many languages just like with the German Ch or with the Spanish J or the Slavic J which sounds like a Y.
So if an American who knows about the Spanish prounciation of J sees one in a Slavic word chances are he will misspronounce it just as the slavic speakers misspronounce the Spanish ones..
What a beautiful bridge and what incredible engineering. I wouldn’t mind paying to drive over it, over and back, but not on a regular basis. I hate toll roads.
It's the most expensice toll in Greece by far from the second. You have to pay 13,50 Euros if you have a car just for one pass. In case that you have a truck you have to pay approximately 30 Euros.
@@1tasarastasaras 13.50 for the one side and 2.50 for the other side, these e are the prices that i remember 2 years ago
@@iliaz7057 its like 13,50 for one pass or if you want the aleretour its 13,60€ to pass it and come back in 3 hours
My advice is to walk it! It's even better that way. I've walked it a couple of years ago, in night time under an August full moon. 🙂
For the ones complaining: κάντε τον κύκλο μάγκες!
The thrill I get when travelling on this bridge and the excitement is amazing - I’m in total awe!!! Thanks engineers 👏
That Skywalker hates sand joke lol BB is really taking over the Simonverse!
What amazed me when I first crossed this bridge is how steep the incline is. When on the ascend, you have to push the throttle pedal hard.
I like how the longer these channels go on, the more Blaze finds their way into them.
I have driven, walked and cycled across, it's ba great piece of engineering
Next go beneath by boat😉
@@NoName-xc6cg done that also
Last year I passed through that bridge, it’s really breathtaking in the night with its blue light !! Check for pictures !
I pass through this beauty every day going to work!On my motorbike of course...I was there"helping" the process of the construction.I m a vts operator at Rio-Antirrio bridge (call sign Rio Traffic).
Simon: I've never seen Star Wars.
Simon: Let's throw in a Star Wars reference.
Seriously who wrote that line for him cuz we all know he doesn’t know the reference.
I haven't seen the prequels either, but I've seen enough parodies, reviews and critiques of them to "get" pretty much any reference you could throw at me.
@@KarlBunker Im saying this off what he says on Business Blaze Simons true channel where he comes out in true final form.
It's his writers 😂
@@Moog012 must be Danny or Calum locked up in his basement 😜
Thank you 🤗
I drove over that bridge recently, I knew part of the story, but your explanation is brilliant 👏
"Let's play a little game." - Ok, British Jigsaw.
@Neutral so thus whole comment is just spam
@@archstanton6102 i couldnt be fucked reading it all😂
"I want to play a game. Go tell the coppah you don't have a loicense"
@@cattibingo How did you know I don't have a license?!?
@@cattibingo yeah no. We Brits don’t all sound like that. There are dozens of accents here
In 1996 our then Prime Minister set up the terms: "Finish the bridge before the Olympics Opening Ceremony, otherwise, the penalties begin". The engineers managed to do it and one of our best Olympic Athletes, crossed the bridge with the torch in his hands. It was glorious. The year 2004-5 was our peak we ever managed in the last decades, we almost touched Ancient Greece's levels in terms of euphoria at least. We made our forefathers who now reside in Hades, just a little bit proud. That year we won the Euro 2004 in Football, Eurovision and of course Olympics. We were all wandering in the seventh heaven. The nation came so close together and volunteered to help in everything. Such perfect atmosphere you could feel the Greek spirit in the air. I'm not being hyperbolic in the least bit about the condition back then.
The profit from the tolls are given back to cover the cost of the construction, for the first 30 years of its use. The potential profits were very miscalculated and the cost was covered after some years, and now they are making profit. We will see what happens when the 30 years pass (we are about midway now).
you are gullible if you believe anything the Greek state or affiliated companies say e.g. give away profits for the benefit of Greeks
That bridge is on my hometown! Cool to learn more about it
When it was built, i saw a documentary about it, mentioning that it can withstand such earthquake magnitude that everything else will be possibly destroyed except the bridge.
Cool and scary at the same time
One of the most interesting side projects, amazing engineering. Fourteen Euros (a bit more than $16 US for us Yanks) seems much cheaper than a nearly 300 mile drive.
Im greek, school never taught us how difficult and what an achievement this was...
I just returned from Patras and saw this bridge from the beach view and it’s beautiful!
Fascinating imagination, engineering & sciences applied.
Writer: * puts another star wars reference into the script *
Simon: "Oh for f***s sake"
Simon was probably blissfully unaware that it was a Star Wars reference.
I didn't know our bridge was so difficult to build, although it sure looks fantastic
i crossed the bridge the first day it opened.there were fireworks and the traffic was enormous-half of Greece wanted to pass through that specific day!it took me 2 hours to cross the bridge and arrive at my summer place near Nafpactos..
Yup. It’s a toll bridge, but, it’s worth it. Far more beautiful in real life than the pictures suggest. Of course last time I was there in a severe mid winter freeze they had to close it as 2 meter icicles were falling from the tops of the towers onto the road surface. Ended up spending an extra night in a hotel outside Patras cause half the roads were closed too.
welcome to Greece heheheheh
Yeap, ice is a problem in Southern Greece because they aren't used to it, one snowflake and everything stops haha. Northern Greece makes fun of this while they are wearing light jackets in -10 C lol
It's a magnificent piece of engineering, great on the view and makes the journey, just a simple, 3 minutes pass. If you passing for vacation, it is a nice expirience. If you passing for work, as a truck driver for example, it's not affordable. I paid 13 euros for only one pass, returning from vacations with a simple, size, city car. I can't imagine, how would be the cost for a big size truck which have to pass, multiple times per month.
i think simon needs some holidays, in greece
I thought it was kinda obvious :P
We're talking about the Rio-Antirrio Bridge: the most challenging bridge ever built." Today on not Megaprojects
It is on Megaprojects.
@@helenfotopoulou5125 um... this is Sideprojects. Are you really arguing this?
@@BigGahmBoss No. I mistook the name with a documentary series.
@@BigGahmBoss According to a National Geographic documentary is actually a Megaproject
@@georgekoul than why are we having this discussion on Sideprojects? Check and mate
Build a bridge they said.
It’ll be fun they said.
“They” left out all of the dangerous problems with getting a bridge built in this location. Conveniently they also hired really good engineers
@Zack Smith And it would collapse 12 months later
@Zack Smith chinese are faster because they obviously are a lot of them.
2:41 you can know for certain that if this was a Business Blaze video, that sentence would've been followed by at least a minute long rant by Simon about how he doesn't like Star Wars, and Star Trek is much better. But this is Sideprojects, so Simon must continue without his breakaway from the script.
I have walked at this bridge it’s cool
I really enjoy learning how engineering marvels are constructed. What about the Sydney Opera House, or how the city of Vince was constructed around water. That would be cool!
BEEN THERE AS A CHILD PASSING BY WHEN THEY BEGAN BUILDING IT .... WATCHED HER EVERY DAY WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE AT PATRA .... ...AN AMAZING ENGINEERING ACHIEVEMENT INDEED
Greek person here, and i love this bridge and pass it every summer or winter but i did not know how hard it was to build
You should do a spot about Britain's ill-fated entry into Airships, the R-100 and the R-101. Specifically you should examine the comparison between the private (Vickers) built successful R-100, versus the insanely unsuccessful government built (RAF) R-101..
Ελλαδάρα αδερφέ! :)
A dozen down votes. A dozen. Somewhere there are 12 people shaking their heads and trying to figure out why there's no crayon drawings.
Because they'd already eaten the crayons..
@@mickleblade 🤣
Hey! That's in my hometown! :O Gave me something to think about every time I cross it now
There was one bit of trivia about the bridge. A few months after it had opened a bolt of lightning hit one of the main suspension wires causing a massive burn and weakening the cable. For safety reasons the bridge was shut down to facilitate the safe replacement of this cable. Maybe someone upstairs did not want this structure there or Zues, in a drunken stupor accidently dropped one his lighning bolts.
After part 1, I gave it a couple of minutes' thought.
I guessed expansion joints being large enough to last the life of the bridge.
I totally muffed the fuses, though I see a similar system every day on large area interstate signs - there's a designed failure which knocks the sign down at a certain wind speed, but the sign doesn't blow away and become a cause of more damage, and is right there ready to be repaired.
My solution to the deep bedrock and liquefaction was rather different, probably because I grew up about five miles from the Huey P. Long bridge in greater New Orleans where we have a similar problem for the bridges across the Mississippi River. "Huey" in particular (and I believe some of the others on the lower Mississippi) is essentially a geo-pontoon bridge below the piers/uprights. That is, the bridge is supported by buoyant forces of the at least partially fluid unconsolidated sediments beneath the bridge.
The rest is unrelated to the Rio-Antirro Bridge, but rather related to "Huey"; you may or may not find it entertaining, but I would definitely consider Huey to be at least a "Side Project". The original Huey was built by the Public Belt Railroad in the 1930's, but received considerable support from the State of Louisiana to provide two-lane, 9ft (2.75m) automobile lanes on each side to serve as part of US Highway 90 (formerly the Spanish-American Trail). (Personal note, I had to drive across the original bridge on my learner's permit before my mother would let me take the driving test ca 1980.) It has five piers, supporting a traditional four-pier cantilever bridge at the west bank* end and an arched truss bridge at the east bank end.
Between 2006 and 2013, the roadways were expanded to 3 lanes at 3.3m (11ft) per lane, with shoulders on both sides. This was accomplished essentially by building ANOTHER bridge abound the original bridge. New piers were built around the existing piers, the much-wider cantilever and arch sections were designed to tie into the original bridge and were built on the east-bank batture (area that is usually land, but on the river side of the levee), then when they were completed, they were floated out on barges, lifted with strand jacks (that is, massive winches), and welded in place. There were four separate strand jack lifts, corresponding to the span between each upright (except the second from the west bank side which was rather shorter as that span had cantilever sections at each end), and the cantilever sections supported by those spans.
\* The use of east bank and west bank is essential. As the Mississippi river runs predominately west to east through greater New Orleans, but undulates along the way, Huey runs north west to south east, with the north west end on the east bank, and the south east end on the west bank. (After a certain incident, I sat on the east bank for several hours and watched the sun rise over the west bank). The only two bridges farther down the Mississippi are the same river crossing from a traffic management view, and constitute the "Crescent City Connection" (CCC). The CCC bridges run almost due east-west, with the west end on the east bank and the east end on the west bank.
I am an engineering student in Greece and the professors in our uni brag about the bridge every other day. I am sick of hearing it but at least it is kind of justified
Nice three seconds of Montreal's new Champlain Bridge. Fun fact! It was determined to be cheaper in the long run to build a whole new bridge than fix the one we already had. They built it, and still haven't figured out fully how to remove the old one.
Simon's Beard: The 3rd most challenging beard ever grown (behind BeardMeatsFood and those ZZ Top dudes).
Only two of the ZZ Top dudes, not the drummer, whose last name, fantastically, is Beard.
@@cleverusername9369 lol poor dude didn’t get the memo
Wow. Impressive design and execution.
As a Greek, I really enjoyed and liked this ;)
The NY caisson of the Brooklyn bridge was built upon pilings over 145 years ago. They dug and dug but couldn’t find bedrock as they had with the other caisson, so they compacted sand and hammered pilings into the ground.
The bridge's toll has double price than the ferry's fee, for normal vehicle. Everytime the bridge changes the prices, the ferry does accordingly.
Guys the bridge it’s in my hometown and every time when I’m driving through I really enjoy it
Thunderbolts falling like flies on that bridge should also be mentioned!!!
Absolutely amazing!