Built between 1881 and 1884, the Garabit Viaduct in France automatically became the world’s longest arch bridge—until that title was taken from it by the Dom Luís I Bridge in Porto two years later. If you want to learn a little more about this marvel of engineering, don’t miss this post.
The Garabit Viaduct was overseen by a famous Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, who a few years later would become world-famous for designing the Eiffel Tower, in collaboration with his team of engineers Maurice Koechlin and León Boyer. Its construction was ordered by the French government in 1879 to form part of the line of Marvejols–Neussarguessiendo Railroad.
Nighttime view of the Garabit Viaduct. Photo: Grégory Leroy (Wikimedia)
It is a mild-steel arch bridge made of 565 meters long located about a 122 meters high over the Truyère River. The bridge's structure is a a wrought-iron lattice divided into seven separate openings, while the connections to the ground on either side are formed by ashlar arches.
Detail of the metal structure. Photo: Petersbest2018 (Pixabay)
The The central arch has a span of 165 meters, and it was also the arch bridge with the longest span in the world at the time of its construction. It is estimated that 3,300 metric tons of iron for its construction.
A few years before the Garabit Viaduct was built—specifically in 1876—Gustave Eiffel and his partner, Theodore Seyring, built the bridge at María Pía on the Douro River, in Porto, a structure through which they can be observed significant similarities:
María Pía Bridge, Portugal. Photo: bernswaelz (Pixabay)
Garabit Viaduct, France. Photo: Calips (Wikimedia)
Currently, the Garabit Viaduct is part of the French National Heritage and only one train runs on it each day.
