The Nine Arches Bridge ( si, ආරුක්කු නමයේ පාලම,) also called the Bridge in the Sky, is a viaduct bridge in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. It is one of the best examples of colonial-era railway construction in the country. It is located in

Demodara Demodera is a town in the central highlands of Sri Lanka, located in the Badulla District of Uva Province. It is approximately south of Badulla (the capital of Uva Province), on the A16 (Beragala - Hali Ela road). Transport It is served ...

, between

Ella Ella may refer to: * Ella (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Places United States * Ella, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Ella, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Ella, Pennsylvania, an unincorporat ...

and

Demodara railway station Demodara railway station is the 76th and third last railway station on the Main Line, and is away from Colombo. It is located above mean sea level and from Badulla, the capital city of Uva Province. All the trains that run on the Main Lin ...

s. The surrounding area has seen a steady increase of tourism due to the bridge's architectural ingenuity and the profuse greenery in the nearby hillsides. The construction of the bridge is generally attributed to a local Ceylonese builder, P. K. Appuhami, in consultation with British engineers.Demodara Nine Arch Bridge
Amazing LankaNine Arch Bridge
Lakpura The chief designer and project manager of the 'upcountry railway line of Ceylon' project was

D. J. Wimalasurendra Devapura Jayasena Wimalasurendra (17 September 1874 – 10 August 1953) was a Sri Lankan engineer and statesman. He played a prominent role in the establishment of hydropower in Sri Lanka and is known as the "Father of Hydropower" and was a membe ...

, a distinguished Ceylonese engineer and inventor. The designer of the viaduct was Harold Cuthbert Marwood of Railway Construction Department of

Ceylon Government Railway The Sri Lanka Railway Department (more commonly known as Sri Lanka Railways (SLR)) ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා දුම්රිය සේවය ''Śrī Laṃkā Dumriya Sēvaya''; Tamil: இலங்கை புகையிரத ...

. The 1923 report titled "Construction of a Concrete Railway Viaduct in Ceylon" published by the Engineering Association of Ceylon has details of all the records including the plans and drawings. IESL Construction report for the viaduct
/ref> Popular rumours suggest that when construction work commenced on the bridge, the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

began between the empires of Europe and the steel assigned for this site was reallocated to Britain's War related projects at the battlefront. As a result, the work came to a standstill, leading the locals to build the bridge with stone bricks and cement, but without steel. Nine Arches Bridge

References

External links

In the Hills of Sri Lanka’s Tea Country
{{Authority control Bridges in Badulla District Tourist attractions in Badulla District