Garabit Viaduct is located in Southern France and crosses the river Truyère. The bridge was constructed by Gustave Eiffel man who built the Eiffel Tower in Paris, he is also known for its ingerniørarbeid in building bridges, he has also constructed railway bridge Maria Pia bridge in Porto, Portugal.
Government wanted to lead a railway line over a large cleft in Loubaresse. It would be too expensive to build railroads around the river. Eiffel was given the task of constructing the bridge, this was a big challenge. There was a great span and the bridge had to be high for the railroad would run at the same level. It was necessary to also take into consideration wind and temperature range. Construction of the bridge started in 1882 and opened in 1885.
When Garabit Viaduct was completed it was world's tallest bridge. The first train that passed the bridge, was a train with 22 wagons. It had a weight of approx. 400 tons. When the train ran over the bridge, gave the arch deflection, which was measured at 8 millimetres. This was exactly the Eiffel had calculated beforehand. The bridge is in use today.
