Viaduct of Viaur

The Viaduc of Viaur is a work Ferroviaire French builds to allow the Train S crossing the deep valley of the Viaur between Rodez and Albi

Geography

It is located on commute Tauriac-with-Naucelle (Aveyron) and Tanus (Tarn).

History

At the conclusion of a Contest which was open in 1887 between Engineer S (of which Gustave Eiffel), it was allotted and built between 1897 and 1902 by the engineer Paul Bodin of the Company of construction of Batignolles, today Spie Batignolles.

Characteristics

Bridge out of steel, assembled by rivets. It is composed of two beams in Porte-à-faux balanced (cantilever) and articulated, each one prolonged by a short prismatic beam and an abutment in masonry with two arches. It is the only bridge of this type in France.

This technique allowed considerable ranges for the viaduct railway for which the solution suspended bridge was at the time unsuited. The apogee will be the second Pont of Quebec (1917).

The characteristic which returns the viaduct of single and recognizable Viaur between all is that the railway passes at the top and not in the middle of the structure as it is the case for the other bridges with cantilever beam.

Overall length of the work: 460m of which 420m for the metal part.
Height: 116m with the top of the river, 54m to the top of the supports.
Carried between supports: 220m.
metal Mass: 3800 tons.

Anecdotes

Assembly of the viaduct of Viaur with been used as subject to the painter H. - M. Magne for its table Construction of a viaduct . One sees there a team of riveters to work, perched on a flying scaffolding.

Large bridges built on the principle of the overhang

Bridge on Firth off Forth
Bridge Paul-Doumer
Bridge of Quebec

External bonds

Photographs * Illustrated history

Sources

Architectures of engineers, Centers Georges Pompidou, 1978, ISBN 2 85850-081-9

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