Anghel Saligny Bridge King Carol I Bridge (Podul Regele Carol I) | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 44°20′25.56″N28°1′1.26″E / 44.3404333°N 28.0170167°E |
Carries | single-track electrified railway line |
Crosses | Danube Borcea branch of the Danube |
Locale | Between Cernavodă and Fetești |
Characteristics | |
Design | Truss bridges |
Total length | 4,088 m (13,412 ft) |
Longest span | 190 m (620 ft) |
First section length | 1,662 m (5,453 ft) (over main branch) |
Second section length | 970 m (3,180 ft) (over Borcea branch) |
History | |
Designer | Anghel Saligny |
Opened | 26 September 1895 |
Location | |
The Anghel Saligny Bridge (Romanian : Podul Anghel Saligny), formerly King Carol I Bridge, is a complex of two railroad truss bridges in Romania, across the Danube River and the Borcea branch of the Danube, connecting the regions of Muntenia and Dobruja. The bridge is listed in the National Register of Historic Monuments. [1]
The bridge was built between 1890 and 1895 over the Danube, the Borcea branch of the Danube, and the Balta Ialomiței island, and when it was completed, with a total length (with viaducts) of 4,087.95 m (13,411.9 ft), it became the longest bridge in Europe and the second longest in the world. [2] The bridge was designed by the Romanian engineer Anghel Saligny. The two cities on the banks of the river which was built were Fetești on the left side, located on the Borcea branch of the Danube, and Cernavodă on the right side, located on the main branch of the Danube.
The crossing of Danube at Cernavodă was provided through a bridge with a central span of 190 m (620 ft) (the largest in continental Europe) and other four spans of 140 m (460 ft), beside to a viaduct with 15 spans of 60 m (200 ft) each. Another bridge, with three spans of 140 m (460 ft) and 11 spans of 50 m (160 ft), was designed and realized over the Borcea branch. [3] The two bridges have a total length of 2,632 m (8,635 ft) of which 1,662 m (5,453 ft) over the Danube and 970 m (3,180 ft) over Borcea, and are 30 m (98 ft) above the water, allowing tall ships to pass under it. Between the two bridges there was a 1,455 m (4,774 ft) viaduct over the Balta Ialomiței island, with 34 spans of 42.8 m (140 ft) each.
The entire bridge was inaugurated on 26 September 1895, and as a test on the opening, a convoy of 15 whistling locomotives sped at 60 km/h, followed by a train reserved for 'guests', at 80 km/h.
In the 1960s, after large parts of the Balta Ialomiței island were reclaimed for agriculture, the original viaduct over it was replaced with an embankment.
Anghel Saligny Bridge complex has been exclusively used for almost a century, until 1987, when the new Cernavodă Bridge complex, built next to it, was inaugurated. [4]
Cernavodă is a town in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania with a population of 20,514.
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Fetești is a city in Ialomița County, Muntenia, Romania. It is located in the Bărăgan plain, on the Borcea branch of the Danube. Fetești has the second largest population in Ialomița, after Slobozia.
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The Ialomița is a river of Southern Romania. It rises from the Bucegi Mountains in the Carpathians. It discharges into the Borcea branch of the Danube in Giurgeni. It is 417 km (259 mi) long, and its basin area is 10,350 km2 (4,000 sq mi). Its average discharge at the mouth is 45 m3/s (1,600 cu ft/s). Ialomița County takes its name from this river.
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Anghel Saligny was a Romanian engineer, most famous for designing the Fetești-Cernavodă railway bridge (1895) over the Danube, the longest bridge in Europe at that time. He also designed the storage facilities in Constanța seaport, one of the earliest examples of reinforced concrete architecture in Europe.
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Balta Ialomiței is an island on the Danube, located in Ialomița County and Călărași County, Romania. It is surrounded by two branches of the Danube, named "Borcea" and "Dunărea Veche". Originally, a wetland, the island was covered with marshes, woods, lakes, and ponds, but some of the land was reclaimed for agriculture. Occasionally, some of these regions are still flooded. The A2 freeway passes through this island. The island has an area of 831.3 km2 (321.0 sq mi), with a length of 94 km (58 mi) and a width of 5 to 12.5 kilometres. The average height is 10 to 17 metres.
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