The Freyssinet Test Arch (in French ''Arche d'essai Freyssinet'') is a

prestressed concrete Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete used in construction. It is substantially "prestressed" ( compressed) during production, in a manner that strengthens it against tensile forces which will exist when in service. Post-tensioned concreted i ...

arch built in 1909 in

Moulins, Allier Moulins (; oc, Molins) is a Communes of France, commune in central France, capital of the Allier Departments of France, department. It is located on the river Allier (river), Allier. Among its many tourist attractions are the Maison Mantin, t ...

Eugène Freyssinet Eugène Freyssinet () (13 July 1879 – 8 June 1962) was a French structural and civil engineer. He was the major pioneer of prestressed concrete. Biography Freyssinet was born in at Objat, Corrèze, France. He worked in the ''École Nationale d ...

1. Its purpose was to test the resistance of this material to traction exerted on very flat and long-range arches. Freyssinet wanted to validate this prestressed concrete technique which he had perfected before the construction of three road bridges over the Allier river which he was to undertake in the following years: the , the and the

Châtel-de-Neuvre Châtel-de-Neuvre () is a commune in the Allier department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Allier department The following is a list of the 317 communes of the Allier department of France. Intercommunalities ...

bridge. As the first testimony to this innovative technique, the arch has been registered as a

Monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

since October 2021 with Boutiron Bridge, the only existing original bridge of the three.

References

{{Reflist Prestressed concrete construction Buildings and structures in Moulins, Allier Monuments historiques of Allier 1909 in technology