Malaga province's famous Caminito de Rey celebrates ten years with start of work on new bridge, the longest of its type in Spain

The much-anticipated building of a hanging footbridge at the very end of the Caminito del Rey walkway kicked off last Friday.

The start of the work coincided with the tenth anniversary of the popular inland visitor attraction and a ceremony marking it, which was attended by local politicians, officials and those involved in the project.

The dignitaries were there to witness the laying of a symbolic foundation stone - in fact a metal cylinder with daily newspapers and other artefacts carried high up the rockface by drone to be fixed in a crevice by workers who had climbed up to receive it.

Once finished, at 110 metres, it will be the longest hanging footbridge in Spain spanning the existing iron bridge and El Chorro tunnel exit at a height of 50 metres. It will provide an even more spectacular option for visitors to finish the Caminito del Rey.

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At the tenth birthday celebration was Francisco Salado, the president of the Diputación provincial authority, the body that set up the Caminito, along with local mayors whose towns have benefited from increased numbers of visitors: Francisco Martínez (Álora); Manuel Barón (Antequera); Virginia Romero (Valle de Abdalajís); and Juan Alberto Naranjo (Ardales).

The regional government's representative for Malaga province, Patricia Navarro, was also there, as was the head of construction group Sando, Luis Sánchez Manzano. His company forms part of the joint venture that operates Caminito del Rey, which also includes firms Espectáculos Mundo and Salzillo Servicios Integrales.

The bridge will cost 1.25 million euros which is being paid by the operators themselves, highlighting the success of public-private cooperation on the eight-kilometre path which includes parts on dramatic cliff side ledges.

The new suspension bridge will have two main sustainable steel cables of 4,500 kilograms and a 1,450-metre special braided steel cable and a downward slope with an average drop of 7.5%. The footbridge will be made of wood on a metal foundation and the handrails will be made of steel cable, like those already existing along the Caminito.

The total structure will weigh 38 tonnes, of which 17 tonnes will be the new bridge. The assembly and installation will be complex and require the use of helicopters.

This new bridge is presented as an alternative to the current exit route of the Caminito - which can still be used - and will save visitors almost a kilometre of downhill walking on steeper terrain. At the end of the bridge, paths will take visitors to the exit.

According to a geological study compiled by Granada and Jaén universities, a "very detailed" evaluation was carried out to assess the safety of a slope located near the exit of the Caminito. It has revealed the slope shows "signs of instability and is apparently the most problematic part of the exit path".

Therefore, although the measures recommended for the stabilisation of the slope have already been carried out (installation of triple torsion meshes and the placement of anchors, cables and high resistance meshes to retain possible landslides), the report also recommended studying other measures such as the search for alternative routes for the movement of the numerous visitors to the Caminito del Rey to reduce exposure to possible landslides.