ABSTRACT
Luiz I Bridge crosses the Douro river between Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia since 1886. It is a steel arch bridge 172 m long and 45 m maximum height –, that ensures river crossing at two different levels (Figure 1). Since its construction several rehabilitation services were preformed on the structure, mainly stimulated by traffic category exchange along the years. The implementation of the Metro network on the metropolitan area of Porto imposed the most recent of these rehabilitations. It was decided that the upper deck of Luiz I Bridge would accommodate two parallel Metro lines to extend the infrastructure to Vila Nova de Gaia. This connection is considered to be critical to the accomplishment of the entire project given its strategic importance.
