Maracaibo lake and general Rafael Urdaneta Bridge

Maracaibo Lake is the greatest natural feature of the Zulia State with a total extension of 13000 km2, it comes 23rd among the largest lakes in the world. The volume of traffic and freight shipped through its waters, larger than in any other Venezuelan lake, makes this fluvial way of transportation vital for the industry and commerce of the Zulia State.
The General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge over Maracaibo Lake joins the eastern Zulia region with the rest of the country. It is an engineering masterpiece built in concrete. Its construction lasted five years at a cost of Bs. 350 million (US $ 100 million at the time of construction) with a length of 8.678 m. (8.6 km. approx.) It was built in structural sections of 235 m., each one supported by six pillars. This magnificent structure bridges the opposite shores, at the narrowest part of the lake, thus saving travellers a journey that used to take two hours by ferry, to get from Maracaibo to Puerto Palmarejo on the east coast.