The Garabit viaduct (french: viaduc de Garabit) is a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...

spanning the Truyère, near Ruynes-en-Margeride,

Cantal Cantal (; oc, Cantal or ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France, with its prefecture in Aurillac. Its other principal towns are Saint-Flour (the episcopal see) and Mauriac; its residents are known as Cantalians (fren ...

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 ...

, in the mountainous

Massif Central The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France. Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,0 ...

region. The bridge was constructed between 1882 and 1884 by

Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway ...

, with

structural engineering Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering in which structural engineers are trained to design the 'bones and muscles' that create the form and shape of man-made structures. Structural engineers also must understand and cal ...

by Maurice Koechlin, and was opened in 1885. It is in length and has a principal arch of span.

Background

By the late 1870s, Eiffel & Cie, the company founded by Eiffel in partnership with

Théophile Seyrig François Gustave Théophile Seyrig (19 February 1843 to 5 July 1923) was a German engineer, best known for designing bridges. On 6 October 1868, he founded ''Eiffel and Company'' with Gustave Eiffel. Seyrig contributed to the Eiffel and Company ...

, had established a place among the leading French engineering companies. Between 1875 and 1877, the company had built the Maria Pia Bridge over the

Douro The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

, and when the construction of a railway between

Marvejols Marvejols (; oc, Maruèjols), is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France. Its inhabitants are known as ''Marvejolais''. Geography The commune is located in the Massif central. The Colagne flows southward through the middle of t ...

and Neussargues, both in

, was proposed, the work of constructing a

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 ...

to cross the Truyère was given to Eiffel without the usual process of competitive tendering. That was at the recommendation of the state engineers since the technical problems involved were similar to those of the Maria Pia Bridge. Indeed, it was Eiffel & Cie's success with that project that had led to the proposal for a viaduct at Garabit.

Design and construction

Opening with a single track in November 1885, the Garabit viaduct was long and weighed . Even more impressively, the actual

deflection Deflection or deflexion may refer to: Board games * Deflection (chess), a tactic that forces an opposing chess piece to leave a square * Khet (game), formerly ''Deflexion'', an Egyptian-themed chess-like game using lasers Mechanics * Deflection ...

(load displacement) was measured at , just what had been calculated by Eiffel. At above the river, the bridge was the world's highest arch bridge when it was built. The overall project cost was 3,100,000

franc The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...

s. Until 11 September 2009, one regular passenger train each way passed daily over the viaduct: a Corail route from

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label= Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attrac ...

Béziers Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a subprefecture of the Hérault department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hosts the famous ''Feria de Béziers'', which is centred on bullfighting. A million visitors are attra ...

. On that date, the viaduct closed after cracks were discovered in one of the foundation piles. After a safety inspection, the Garabit viaduct reopened the following month, with a speed limit of 10 km/h (6 mph) for all traffic. The design uses a

parabolic arch A parabolic arch is an arch in the shape of a parabola.Article about parabolic arch by The Free DictionaryParabolic arch , Article about parabolic arch by The Free Dictionary accessdate: March 2, 2017 In structures, their curve represents an effi ...

In popular culture

In 1976, it was used to represent the condemned "Cassandra Crossing" bridge in the film '' The Cassandra Crossing''. In the film, the bridge is depicted as being unused and derelict for 30 or 40 years and is considered dangerous, to the extent that people living nearby moved away fearing it could collapse.

References

* * *

External links

*
Garabit Viaduct on bridge-info.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garabit Viaduct Railway bridges in France Viaducts in France Truss arch bridges Bridges completed in 1885 Buildings and structures in Cantal Gustave Eiffel's designs

Background

Design and construction

In popular culture

See also

References

External links