King Carol I Bridge

Last updated
Anghel Saligny Bridge
King Carol I Bridge (Podul Regele Carol I)
Podul Regele Carol I.jpg
Coordinates 44°20′25.56″N28°1′1.26″E / 44.3404333°N 28.0170167°E / 44.3404333; 28.0170167
Carriessingle-track electrified railway line
Crosses Danube
Borcea branch of the Danube
LocaleBetween Cernavodă and Fetești
Characteristics
Design Truss bridges
Total length4,088 m (13,412 ft)
Longest span190 m (620 ft)
First section length1,662 m (5,453 ft) (over main branch)
Second section length970 m (3,180 ft) (over Borcea branch)
History
Designer Anghel Saligny
Opened26 September 1895
Location
King Carol I Bridge

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]

Contents

History

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]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cernavodă</span> Town in Constanța, Romania

Cernavodă is a town in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania with a population of 20,514.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danube–Black Sea Canal</span> Ship canal in Romania

The Danube–Black Sea Canal is a navigable canal in Romania, which runs from Cernavodă on the Danube river, via two branches, to Constanța and Năvodari on the Black Sea. Administered from Agigea, it is an important part of the waterway link between the North Sea and the Black Sea via the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal. The main branch of the canal, with a length of 64.4 km (40.0 mi), which connects the Port of Cernavodă with the Port of Constanța, was built in 1976–1984, while the northern branch, known as the Poarta Albă–Midia Năvodari Canal, with a length of 31.2 km (19.4 mi), connecting Poarta Albă and the Port of Midia, was built between 1983 and 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fetești</span> Municipality in Ialomița, Romania

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trajan's Bridge</span> Roman segmental arch bridge over the lower Danube

Trajan's Bridge, also called Bridge of Apollodorus over the Danube, was a Roman segmental arch bridge, the first bridge to be built over the lower Danube and one of the greatest achievements in Roman architecture. Though it was only functional for 165 years, it is often considered to have been the longest arch bridge in both total and span length for more than 1,000 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ialomița (river)</span> River in Romania

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A2 motorway (Romania)</span> Motorway in Romania

The A2 motorway, also known as The Motorway of the Sun, is a motorway in Romania which links Bucharest with Constanța, a city-port on the shore of the Black Sea, where it merges after an interchange into the A4 motorway. It is 206 km long, and has been operational on its entire length since November 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anghel Saligny</span>


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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liești</span> Commune in Galați, Romania

Liești is the third-largest commune of Galați County, Western Moldavia, Romania on the confluence of the Siret and Bârlad rivers, very close to Tecuci (28 km) and Galați (52 km). It is composed of two villages, Liești and Șerbănești. The latter is the southernmost part of the commune.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danube Bridge</span> Bridge in Romania

The Danube Bridge is a steel truss bridge over the Danube River connecting the Bulgarian bank to the south with the Romanian bank to the north and the cities of Ruse and Giurgiu respectively. It is one of only two bridges connecting Romania and Bulgaria, the other one being the New Europe Bridge between the cities of Vidin and Calafat.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cernavodă Bridge</span> Bridge in Romania

The Cernavodă Bridge is a complex of two freeway-railroad truss bridges in Romania, across the Danube River, connecting the cities of Cernavodă and Fetești, between the regions of Dobruja and Muntenia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faidherbe Bridge</span> Road bridge in Senegal

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Făcăeni</span> Commune in Ialomița, Romania

Făcăeni is a commune in Ialomița County, Muntenia, Romania. Its population was 5,953 at the 2002 census. The commune is composed of two villages, Făcăeni and Progresu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constantine's Bridge (Danube)</span> Roman bridge over the Danube (completed in 328)

Constantine's Bridge was a Roman bridge over the Danube used to reconquer Dacia. It was completed in 328 AD and remained in use for four decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giurgeni–Vadu Oii Bridge</span> Bridge in Romania

The Giurgeni–Vadu Oii Bridge is a bridge in Romania, over the Danube river, between Giurgeni commune and Vadu Oii village on the DN2A (E60) national road. Situated on River - Km 237,8, it connects the regions of Muntenia and Dobruja.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brăila Bridge</span> Danube bridge in Romania

The Brăila Bridge is a road suspension bridge in Romania over the Danube river, between Brăila, a major city in eastern Romania, and the opposite bank of the river in Tulcea County, on the DN2S national road. It is the first bridge over the maritime Danube sector and the fourth bridge over the Romanian section of the river. At nearly 2 km in length, it is the largest bridge over the Danube, and the third longest suspension bridge in the European Union. The bridge improves road traffic accessibility of the Galați-Brăila area to Constanța and Tulcea, and connections of the Moldavia and Muntenia regions with Dobruja. The European Union co-funded the project with €363 million from Cohesion Policy funds.

References

  1. Podul Carol I cu statuia Dorobantul Archived 2012-08-01 at archive.today at constanta.djc.ro (in Romanian)
  2. Meltem Toksoz; Biray Kolluoğlu (25 August 2014). Cities of the Mediterranean: From the Ottomans to the Present Day. I.B.Tauris. pp. 172–. ISBN   978-0-85771-140-3.
  3. Danube bridges Archived October 7, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Danube bridges Archived October 7, 2010, at the Wayback Machine