Description of the attraction
The swing bridge in Belize is located in the center of the capital, next to the Maritime Museum. It connects the northern part of Belize City with the southern one, it is thrown across the Haulover tributary.
A tourist and historical attraction in Belize, it is the oldest drawbridge in Central America. Made in Liverpool (UK), delivered by an American transport company through New Orleans to allow high-mast sailing fishing boats to pass up the river. The new bridge replaced several mid-19th century wooden structures made by the locals to cross the river.
The bridge was designed in 1922, assembly and installation was completed in 1923. It is manually opened by four workers twice a day, morning and evening, allowing boats to pass through. During the strongest hurricane in 1931, the bridge was damaged. The structure was destroyed again by Hurricane Hattie in 1961 and Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Overhaul was carried out in the first decade of the 21st century. Negotiations were held with local residents to equip the bridge with automatic equipment, but the population opposed, realizing that this would deprive the city of a significant attraction.
Now this bridge is the only operating drawbridge with a manual drive in the world.
