General view of Caracau viaduct.

Placed on the railway between Adjud and Ciceu, which runs trough Eastern Carpathians, Caracau
viaduct was built in 1897. The bridge passed trough three construction phases, the actual form 
being built in 1946. Measuring 264 meters in lenght and 64 meters in height, the first bridge 
had a central opening of 101 meters and two lateral ones measuring 51 meters each. In 1916,
the central girder was cut by the Hungarian army. In order to keep the bridge open, the destroyed
girder was replaced with a provisional one sustained by a metal pole. This provisional bridge 
functioned 27 years, till 1944, when the whole viaduct was destroyed by German troops. In order to 
quickly restore the railway traffic, a wooden bridge was built. The wooden bridge rested on 22 wooden 
pooles, splitted in 8 meters high storeys. The total height of the wooden structure was about 57 
meters. Because this wooden structure presented a big fire danger, a new reinforced concerete bridge 
was designed and built. The bridge wich is the actual one, has a 100 metres long central arch. 
Work at the final bridge finished in 1946 and the bridge is still open for railway traffic.

<p>Photo by: Romanian Railway Company (CFR S.A.)
<br>Upload and text by: Andrei Berinde (fbvro@xnet.ro)