The Skywalk in Gibraltar
“The Skywalk is the newest attraction built in the Upper Rock Nature Reserve on behalf of HM Government of Gibraltar, as part of a wider project of improvements carried out with the aim of providing locals and visitors with new and diverse ways to enjoy the Rock of Gibraltar. The wider master-plan project has also seen the construction of a 70-metre long suspended expanded metal bridge, the restoration of numerous former military batteries and installations of directional signage along newly established walking trails.
The site is situated in one of the highest points of the Rock, , providing a unique vantage point from which to take in panoramic views over a landscape where different worlds meet: Europe and Africa, the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. It sits immediately below Douglas Path, which leads to O’Hara’s Battery a little further to the South – the highest point on the Rock.
The Skywalk structure has been built above a previously existing historic military platform . The design aspiration of this project was to afford the visitor with new views in all directions including over the rocky cliff-face below. The walkway with glazed flooring and perforated expanded metal is wrapped around the historic stone platform, with steel and expanded metal stairs providing access to the original military platform level above . The old concrete gun base now serves as a seat for visitors to rest and gaze out towards the distant horizon.
The new addition constitutes a 2.5m wide walkway . The structure is anchored to the rock with 70m of rock anchors, each supporting a tensile load of 15 tonnes, ensuring the structure can withstand not just the imposed load of visitors above but also the considerable wind speeds of over 150 km/h which are generated over the ridge of the rock. The lift which provides an alternative means of access from the road level below also serves as an integral part of the design.
Because vehicular access to this area is limited to very narrow and winding roads, the entire walkway structure had to be made in smaller sections which could be transported and assembled together in an area with rapidly changing weather conditions and given the steeply dropping cliff-face below. The main steel structure constitutes 18 separate pieces, weighing a combined total of over 30,000kg. The glazing modules comprises over 750m2 of glass panels overall (roughly the equivalent area of 4 tennis courts), with the largest component weighing in approximately 650kg.”
Here is the video introducing the skywalk in Gibraltar , you see, is it exciting and attractive?
