A huge fireworks display on Saturday night was followed by the Olympic torch being relayed across the Rion Antirion Bridge yesterday, marking completion of the structure that takes the world record for the longest cable-stayed deck. The bridge has a continuous 2.259km deck suspended from four 170m pylons. It crosses high over the western end of the Gulf of Corinth, connecting mainland Greece to the Peloponnese.

Gefyra was awarded a 42 year concession in 1997, taking full responsibility for the design, construction, finance, maintenance and operation of the bridge. The main contractor is Kinopraxia Gefyra – a joint venture of six Greek contractors led by France’s Dumez-GTM. Supervising engineer is Fabermaunsell. The contractor’s consultants are Ingerop and Domi while the checking engineer is Buckland & Taylor.