The Chiapas Bridge crosses over the Malpaso Dam reservoir and its part of a federal highway that connects southern Veracruz to Tuxtla Gutierrez. The bridge and highway make the dam area more accessible to tourism. The decision to build the bridge was made in 2002 and the project lasted fourteen months with inauguration occurring in December 2003. The bridge stretches 1,208 meters over a section of the reservoir. The bridge is ten meters wide, with eight supports, seven pillars or "jackets" and one strip of concrete fastened onto solid land. The upper part of the bridge is made of orthotropic materials with 102 metal voussoirs which weigh 8,900 tons with an average weight of eight tons per meter. The total amount of steel used is over 19,000 tons, the equivalent of four ocean platforms. It was selected as the best infrastructure project in Mexico in 2004.