It is 13.29 kilometres (8.26 mi) long – 8.836 kilometres (5.490 mi) over water and the bridge's 300-metre (980 ft) central span is 72 metres (236 ft) high in order to allow the passage of hundreds of ships entering and leaving the bay every month.

President Artur da Costa e Silva signed a decree on 23 August 1968, authorizing the project for the bridge.

Construction began symbolically on 9 November 1968, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom on her only visit to Brazil.

Actual work began in December 1968 [4] Initially, the bridge was constructed by a consortium of Brazilian companies led by Camargo Correa SA (for the concrete works) and by Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company and Redpath Dorman Long in association with Montreal Engenharia of Brazil (for the steel navigation spans).

[5] On January 26, 1971, President Emílio Garrastazu Médici signed a decree taking control of the consortium.