Roads and bridges
Most of Valdivia lies on the southern side
of the Valdivia and Calle-Calle Rivers but other areas of the city such
as Isla Teja and Las Animas are connected by bridges. The main accesses
to the city are Calle-Calle Bridge from the north and a southern access.
Both accesses connect the city with the Pan-American Highway and run
through forested areas and wetlands.
Calle-Calle Bridge, the first
bridge built, connects the city with Las Animas and forms the northern
highway access to the city. Pedro de Valdivia Bridge was built in 1954
and connects Isla Teja island, where many German immigrants lived.
During the Great Chilean Earthquake only the minor Caucau Bridge (Las
Animas-Isla Teja) was destroyed, while all other bridges were repaired
and are still in use. In 1987 Augusto Pinochet opened R�o Cruces Bridge
making the coastal town of Niebla accessible by road, and also Torobayo
and Punucapa. Calle-Calle Bridge, the main access to the city was
enlarged in the 1990s.
Waterways
Until highway bridges were
built, Valdivia's economy and citizenry depended upon boat traffic on
the surrounding rivers. Nowadays the rivers are used mainly by tourist
boats and by commercial ships built or repaired in Asenav, one of
Chile's most important shipyard companies. Fishing boats travel inland
from the coast to sell fish at the Feria Fluvial market. Only one ferry
operation remains significant, the Niebla-Corral line, as is it much
shorter to reach Corral by ferry than following a circuitous road. Some
of the locations that are regularly reached by tourist boats include
Mancera Island and Punucapa.
Airports
The city is served
mainly by Pichoy Airport that lies 32 km northeast of the city following
the north entrance road that connects the city with the Pan American
Highway. The smaller but much nearer Las Mar�as Airport is used
primarily by minor
