Castellaneta railway bridge
Coordinates: 40 ° 36 ′ 45 ″ N , 16 ° 56 ′ 46 ″ E
| Ponte di Castellaneta | ||
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| use | Railway bridge | |
| Convicted | Bari – Taranto railway line | |
| Subjugated | Gravina Grande di Castellaneta | |
| place | Castellaneta | |
| construction | Reinforced concrete - arch bridge | |
| overall length | 350 meters | |
| Number of openings | 1 | |
| Longest span | 150 meters | |
| height | 82 meters | |
| completion | 1997 | |
| opening | 1997 | |
| planner | Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS) | |
| location | ||
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The railway bridge of Castellaneta runs southeast of the town of Castellaneta, the Bari – Taranto railway line over a gorge, the Gravina Grande di Castellaneta .
history
The Castellaneta railway bridge was built three times in a row. It has a length of 350 m and a height of about 80 m above the valley floor.
The bridge from 1868
When the Bari – Taranto line was built in the second half of the 1860s, it was a single track . The train weights and the speeds traveled were also relatively low. Therefore it was enough to cross the Gravina Grande di Castellaneta with a wrought iron truss bridge . It was built in 1867/68. The responsible engineer was Alfredo Cottrau (1839–1898). This first bridge stood immediately south of the second, still preserved bridge. After the second bridge was built, the truss bridge was demolished and scrapped. The stone supports on the valley edges as well as two brick pillars in the gorge that supported the half-timbered construction are preserved and can be seen.
The 1929 bridge
After more than half a century of operation, the trains had become faster and heavier and the original bridge no longer met operational requirements. It was replaced by a brick arch bridge, which continued to lead the single-track route over six piers and seven arches over the gorge. After the third bridge was built, the second was preserved and now carries a path.
The 1997 bridge
Since 1991, a capacity expansion of the Bari – Taranto line has been planned. This was now electrified , but still single-track and the route with tight curves and flat inclines was still designed for operating conditions as in the second half of the 19th century. The line has therefore been expanded to two tracks and sections of the route have been re-routed. The upgraded line went into operation in 1997. For the bridge over the Gravina Grande di Castellaneta, this meant a second new construction, i.e. the third bridge, which is a little higher than the old bridge with a height of 82 m above the middle of the gorge. This time reinforced concrete was chosen as the building material: a large arch spans the gorge with a span of 150 m. On each of its two sides, five pillars at a distance of 25 m, some of which are on the concrete arch, support the deck girder.
swell
- NN: I Ponti di Castellaneta = exhibition inscription in the Railway Museum of Apulia .