Torrenueva Costa suspension footbridge closed for safety inspection

This walkway, which has a partially glass-bottomed section allowing visitors to walk a distance of fifty metres between the cliffs, is built on a wooden structure 35 metres above the sea. The tourist attraction receives nearly 65,000 visitors a year and since its opening back in May 2022, the walkway has already welcomed more than 200,000 visitors.

Now the town hall has closed the footbridge for a few days for essential annual maintenance work, according to Juan Maldonado, a technician at the town hall, who has said that the footbridge could reopen this week.

According to Maldonado, this is an annual inspection carried out to keep both the bridge’s metal structure and the timber, glass and other components in good condition. “We have to keep the maintenance of the metal part of the structure, the wooden parts, the glass and so on up to date,” said Maldonado, who pointed out that this work does not depend solely on the council, but also on the contractors responsible for its maintenance.

Of all the work carried out over the last few days, the task that has taken the longest has been the replacement of the four glass panes in the central section of the footbridge. Maldonado explained that, on occasions, acts of vandalism from the top of the bridge – where stones are thrown at the structure – cause minor damage to the glass panes, which means they must be replaced.

Over the past few days, the technicians have been carrying out carpentry work on the wooden walkway, inspecting the metal parts of the bridge, adjusting the tensioners and checking all the bolts and nuts. They also check the access gates, which are mechanical and operate automatically both when opening and closing, as the footbridge has opening hours that vary between the summer and winter seasons.

The hydraulic system for these gates is also checked, as is the public address system, which announces the closure of the footbridge in two languages ten minutes beforehand.