The Gründjitobel Viaduct (or Gründjitobel Bridge; german: Gründjitobel-Viadukt) is a single track reinforced concrete railway bridge, spanning the Gründjitobelbach near Langwies, in the

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

of Graubünden, Switzerland. Designed by Hermann Schürch, it was built between late June 1913 and early July 1914 by Müller, Zeerleder und Gobat, for the Chur–Arosa railway. It is now owned and used by the Rhaetian Railway.

Location

The

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 ...

is located on the Rhaetian Railway's

metre gauge Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...

line from Chur to the holiday and recreation resort of Arosa (the

Chur-Arosa The Rhaetian Railway (german: Rhätische Bahn; it, Ferrovia retica; rm, Viafier retica), abbreviated RhB, is a Swiss transport company that owns the largest network of all private railway operators in Switzerland. Headquartered in Chur, the RhB ...

line), between Peist and Langwies, at a place known as Matten-Gründji. It leads the railway line over the Gründjitobel, a steeply eroded gravel

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...

gorge, with sandy formations known as "Steimannli".

History

Due to the difficult geological conditions in Schanfigg, a total of 18 tunnels and 40 bridges needed to be created between 1912 and 1914 for the privately built Chur-Arosa line. Most of the bridges were constructed in the classical manner, in stone, which was often available in sufficient quantities in the nearby Plessur River valley. In places where the building conditions were especially unpromising, iron bridges were created. A completely new building method came to be used near Gründji, due to the distance to be overcome by the Gründjitobel Viaduct, and also by the

Langwieser Viaduct The Langwieser Viaduct (or Langwies Viaduct; german: Langwieser Viadukt) is a single track reinforced concrete railway bridge spanning the Plessur River and the Sapünerbach, near Langwies, in the Canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It was desi ...

, located only a short distance to the southeast. At each of these points, instead of a bridge with many multiple openings, a sensational reinforced concrete structure arose with a large single span. The risk that piers might be undermined by the course of the river could thus be met successfully; since the completion of the Chur-Arosa line, the Gründjitobel Viaduct has only rarely been harmed by erosion.

Technical data

The Gründjitobel Viaduct is long. The main span consists of an arch with an long span, and a rise of above the valley floor. The whole build of the structure proceeded virtually trouble free, and could be completed in just one year. Together with the larger Langwieser Viaduct, which can be considered its prototype, the Gründjitobel Viaduct was, as at the date of its completion, one of the longest spanning railway bridges in the world. The

falsework Falsework consists of temporary structures used in construction to support a permanent structure until its construction is sufficiently advanced to support itself. For arches, this is specifically called centering. Falsework includes temporary su ...

, which had already been used in the construction of the Halen Bridge in Kirchlindach,

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

, originated, as with the Langwieser Viaduct, from Richard Coray of Trin. The structure was built by the firm Müller, Zeerleder und Gobat.

Gallery

Image:Schanfigg_westlich.jpg, The Gründjitobel and the Steimannli from the east Image:Gründjiviadukt09.jpg, View from the Gründjitobel towards the viaduct Image:Gründjiviadukt03.jpg, View from Gründji Image:Gründjiviadukt2.jpg, The viaduct with the Arosa Express

References

*See the list of references in Gründjitobel-Viadukt (de Wikipedia) .

External links