VENEZUELA

VENEZUELA.

Opening of General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge in Lake Maracaibo.
Second stamp in a set of 3, issued on 24.08.1963.
Face value: 0.35 Venezuelan bolívares.
Printed by De La Rue & Co. Ltd., Basingstoke (England).
Printing: Photogravure.
Print: 300,000 copies.
Size: 30 x 40.5 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 1505.
- Scott No. 838.
- StampWorld No. 1525.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 1790.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 680.

The General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge, also locally called the Bridge over the Lake, crosses the narrowest part (the Tablazo Strait) of Lake Maracaibo, in the State of Zulia, in northwestern Venezuela, and connects the city of Maracaibo with the rest from the country. Designed by the Italian engineer Riccardo Morandi and later modified by the Puente Maracaibo Consortium (Consorcio Puente Maracaibo, CPM), it was built in reinforced and prestressed concrete between 1957 and 1963. It has 134 pillars, a length of 8,678 m (28,471 ft) and a width of 17.40 m (57 ft). It was officially inaugurated and opened to traffic on August 24, 1962. At the beginning of the 21st century, it was renovated and illuminated in its six main pillars, using 96 600 W luminaires that can change color. The bridge is named after General Rafael Urdaneta, a Venezuelan hero of Independence who was born in Maracaibo.