Venics gets its first bridge in 70 years

VENICE, Italy, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Venice, Italy, is set to get its first bridge in more than 70 years, designed by world-renowned engineer Santiago Calatrava.

The first part of the supports for the Il ponte di Calatrava were buried in the bank of the Grand Canal this week, The Independent reported Wednesday.

The prefabricated pieces of the bridge were transported into place over the last two years and are ready to be put together.

Travelers should be able to use the bridge across to the Piazzale Roma by the summer.

Calatrava's new bridge, unlike those that made him famous, is just an arrow-like straight bridge that will span from bank to bank with no visible means of support.

Although the bridge is modern, it reportedly does not clash with its traditional surroundings. The fact that it is built partially out of local Istrian marble, Venice's most important raw material, helps it to blend in, the newspaper said.