Most in Chalkida on Evia

Euboea (known as Evia) is the second largest Greek island. A huge advantage is that it is accessible by car. Every day, several buses depart from here to Athens. All this is thanks to two bridges that connect Chalkida, the capital of Evia with mainland Greece.

The bridges connecting Chalkida with mainland Greece have existed since ancient times.

The oldest mentions date back to 411 BC. During this period, the Euboeans and Tibetans built a bridge divided by an islet. On one part, there were two observation towers. Although little information remains about this event, it is known that one of the bridges was movable to allow ships to pass.

In 146 BC, the bridge was destroyed.

During the Turkish domination, in 1470, a bridge was built that was only 100 m long.

The Venetians, when they occupied Evia, built a two-part bridge. One part was wooden and could be raised to allow ships to pass, while the other part was stone, built on five arches. Between the two parts, there was an islet with two towers decorated with winged, marble lions. The bridge was named Negro Ponte, which means black bridge.

In 1854, a decision was made to deepen and widen the channel to accommodate new, increasingly larger ships. The movable part was ordered all the way from France. The opening of the bridge was delayed due to construction, deepening, and also the bad weather in January. Finally, due to horse illness, the royal family was forced to turn back and postpone the ceremonial opening of the bridge three times, much to the relief of the island's inhabitants, the ceremonial inauguration of the bridge took place on the feast of the Three Kings in 1858.

For the next 30 years, dredging work was continuously carried out, until in 1890 it was decided, despite the strong opposition of the Chalkidians, to demolish the bridge, towers, and walls.

For several years, transport was carried out only by rafts. This was difficult and weather-dependent.

Finally, to the relief of the residents not only ofChalkida, but of allEvia, on April 14, 1896, a manual, rotating bridge was opened. And although it functioned for only 66 years, the construction of a new one took place next to it, thus not causing any inconvenience to the community.

Modern for its time, the arched drawbridge, now called the old bridge, was built next to the existing one. After the investment was completed, the bridge from 1896 was demolished.

Today's Old Evripos bridge was inaugurated on September 15, 1962.

It is only 40 m long because it was built in a place where the strait is the narrowest.

A curiosity of the Old Evripos Bridge is the so-called "crazy waters." Their craziness lies in the fact that every six hours, the current of the water flow changes. After the sixth hour, the water momentarily stops, then reverses and flows back, causing quite a stir among the boats.

In reality, while walking along the promenade, one can easily notice the water whirlpools at any time of day.

Since July 1993, the High Bridge Euripus, also known as the New Bridge of Chalkida, is a pride of the locals and also improves communication with mainland Greece, particularly with Athens.

It is a cable-stayed bridge with two pylons, meaning it is suspended on load-bearing cables attached to two reinforced concrete pillars rising directly from the Evripos strait that separates Evia from mainland Greece.

This location was chosen for the bridge because the distance between the lands is small, only 160 m.

In 1992, when the bridge was not yet open to traffic but was already built, it was the first cable-stayed road bridge, meaning suspended on cables, in all of Greece.

In each direction, it has two lanes suitable for large delivery trucks and sidewalks for pedestrians separated by barriers.

The direct connection to the bypass improved traffic flow and significantly reduced congestion in the city center.

The bridge is called high because it is located at a height of about 45 meters, while the towers reach up to 90 meters.

The thickness of the bridge deck is only 45 cm, making it one of the thinnest in the world.

To increase resistance to seismic shocks, the pylons have been monolithically connected to the concrete deck.