Anghel Saligny Bridge


The Anghel Saligny Bridge is a railroad truss bridge in Romania, across the Danube River, connecting the regions of Muntenia and Dobruja. The bridge is listed in the National Register of Historic Monuments.

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 of, it became the longest bridge in Europe and the second longest in the world. The bridge was designed by the Romanian engineer Anghel Saligny. The two cities on the banks of the river which was built were Feteşti on the left side and Cernavodă on the right side.
The crossing of Danube at Cernavodă was provided through a bridge with a central opening of and other four openings of, beside to a viaduct with 15 openings of each. Another bridge, with three openings of and 11 openings of, was designed and realized over the Borcea branch. The two bridges have a length of of which over the Danube and over Borcea, and are above the water, allowing tall ships to pass under it. Between the two bridges there was a viaduct over the Balta Ialomiței island, with 34 openings of 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.

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