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Summary Mexico receives Guinness record for highest cable-stayed bridge in the world.
In the isolated ranges of Mexicos picturesque Sierra Madre, President Felipe Calderon led ceremonial proceedings on Thursday (January 05) for the official launch of the highest suspension bridge in the world, connecting the north-western state of Sinaloa with Durango and Mazatlan.At 1,124 metres long (3,687 feet) and hanging at over 400 metres high (1312 feet), the Baluarte Bridge is part of the countrys elaborate bicentennial celebrations to mark its independence from Spain in 1810.Kicking off the final stage of construction, Guinness record officials awarded an enthusiastic Calderon with an award for the record-breaking engineering feat.What is below us up until the river is 800 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower. It is definitively one of the most impressive infrastructure projects. It is a key piece of Mazatlan and Durango. A project that is going to unite the people from the north of Mexico like never before, declared the president.Construction first started in February 2008 and cost some hundreds of millions of dollars.It is a world first in bridges of its kind. The first cars are expected to cross the impressive piece of infrastructure sometime later in 2012. Government officials hope the ambitious project heralds in a tourism and commercial boom for the isolated region.
