The Venta Bridge was built in 1963. The middle part of the bridge was built as liftable, but due to technical problems, the bridge was not used as liftable. Old Ventspils residents say that once they tried to bring the bridge to life - they lifted it, but could not lower it. They had to ask the Soviet army to send tanks to help... The bridge was 13 m wide at that time. In the period from 1996 to 2001, there were various versions how to use the bridge until a decision was made to reconstruct the bridge.

Reconstruction works of the bridge were started only in August 2009 and already in the first Christmas of 2010 the bridge was opened. During the reconstruction, a brand new bridge was created - only the river supports were preserved from the old construction, including the two middle three-dimensional supports of the lifting part. Today, the total length of the bridge reaches 281.14 meters, while the width has increased to 19.2 meters and instead of the current two lanes there are now four - two in each direction, there are sidewalks on both sides of the bridge, one of which is combined with a bicycle path. The double-sided lifting part of the bridge consists of two sections, their opening angle is 85 degrees and the width of the fairway at the open bridge is 31.37 meters.

At the end of 2011, the bridge over the Venta is experiencing its moment of splendor - it lights up in a special light that illuminates not only the pillars, but also forms illuminated wings on each lantern, becoming a significant object of city light art.

A special bridge fee is charged for each vessel for which the bridge is lifted. It is determined that the bridge will not be lifted from 7 to 9, when residents rush to work, and in the evening from 17 to 19 when most return home. The bridge is not lifted also if the wind speed is higher than 14 m/s and during a thunderstorm.

The control panel of the bridge lifting mechanisms, five monitors are located in the Harbor Master's Office. Road users are first warned about lifting the bridge. Warning signals not only allow you to notice in advance what is happening on the bridge, but also to choose a more appropriate way to continue your ride - for example, turn to the bypass bridge or maybe slow down and watch the bridge go up and down.

True, there are people who do not notice the first, second or third warning. Everything that happens on the bridge is recorded in surveillance cameras, so smile - you're being filmed!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vThfJfeyjIQ&feature=emb_logo

Did you know that?  There are a total of 175 drawbridges in the world. The first drawbridge built specifically for navigation purposes, which is still in operation today, is the Tower of London (built between 1886 and 1894), while the most diverse types of drawbridges are in Chicago - 38. The 19 drawbridges over the Neva in St. Petersburg (Russia) are also well known.

Information for the series of articles "Stories of Ventspils Places" was prepared by Ventspils guide Iveta Rīvāne.