Barentin Viaduct is a railway

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...

that crosses the Austreberthe River on the Paris–Le Havre line near to the town of

Barentin Barentin () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A town of light industry and farming situated by the banks of the river Austreberthe in the Pays de Caux, some northwest of Rouen at ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, about from

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

. It was constructed of brick with 27 arches, high with a total length of . The British engineer was

Joseph Locke Joseph Locke FRSA (9 August 1805 – 18 September 1860) was a notable English civil engineer of the nineteenth century, particularly associated with railway projects. Locke ranked alongside Robert Stephenson and Isambard Kingdom Brunel as one ...

and the contractors were William Mackenzie and

Thomas Brassey Thomas Brassey (7 November 18058 December 1870) was an English civil engineering contractor and manufacturer of building materials who was responsible for building much of the world's railways in the 19th century. By 1847, he had built about o ...

. Shortly after it was completed, after several days of heavy rain, the

collapsed on 10 January 1846. The cause of the collapse was never determined. One theory was that it had been filled with ballast before the mortar was dry. Another theory blamed the

lime mortar Lime mortar or torching is composed of lime and an aggregate such as sand, mixed with water. The ancient Egyptians were the first to use lime mortars, which they used to plaster their temples. In addition, the Egyptians also incorporated various ...

which had been obtained from local sources. Whatever the cause, Brassey rebuilt the viaduct at his own expense, this time using lime of his own choice. The viaduct reopened in 1847, and still stands and is in use today. The building of the Viaduct is fictionalized in

Julian Barnes Julian Patrick Barnes (born 19 January 1946) is an English writer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 with ''The Sense of an Ending'', having been shortlisted three times previously with '' Flaubert's Parrot'', ''England, England'', and '' Art ...

's short story "Junction," published in his 1996 volume '' Cross Channel''.

Notes

Viaducts in France Railway bridges in France Bridges completed in 1846 Bridges completed in 1847 1847 establishments in France {{France-bridge-struct-stub