08.05.2561 The Goteik viaduct ( Gohteik viaduct) is a railway trestle in Nawnghkio, western Shan State, Myanmar

08.05.2561 The Goteik viaduct ( Gohteik viaduct) is a railway trestle in Nawnghkio, western Shan State, Myanmar

สะพานโกเตก สะพานรถไฟหอสูงที่สูงที่สุดในประเทศเมียนมา.
Nawnghkio Township is a township of Kyaukme District in the Shan State of eastern Myanma.

1.

Gokteik Viaduct 
Nawnghkio, Shan, Myanmar
335 feet high / 102 meters high
120 foot span / 37 meter span
1901
From HighestBridges.com

1.1 Image by Martin Callum.

The largest railway trestle in the world upon its completion in 1901, the Gokteik Viaduct is the highest bridge in Myanmar. Located in the center of the country about 60 miles (100 kms) northeast of the largest city of Mandalay, the rail line was constructed as a way for the British Empire to expand their influence in the region. Constructed when the country was originally called Burma, the bridge was designed and fabricated by the Pennsylvania Steel Company and shipped overseas. Construction was overseen by Sir Arthur Rendel, engineer for the Burma Railroad Company. Stretching 2,260 feet (689 mtrs) from end to end, the viaduct has 14 towers that span 40 feet (12 mtrs) along with a double tower 80 feet (24 mtrs) long. These 15 towers support 10 deck truss spans of 120 feet (37 mtrs) along with six plate girder spans 60 feet (18 mtrs) long and an approach span of 40 feet (12 mtrs). Many sources have put the height of the bridge at 820 feet (250 mtrs). This is supposedly a measurement to the river level as it flows underground through a tunnel at the point it passes underneath the trestle. The true height of the bridge as measured from the rail deck to the ground on the downstream side of the tallest tower is 335 feet (102 mtrs).

Although larger concrete viaducts and steel cantilever bridges were constructed before and after Gokteik, no other conventional box tower and girder type steel trestle has ever exceeded it in size except for the monstrous Lethbridge Viaduct in Alberta, Canada which is about the same in height but more than twice the length. The Joso bridge in the U.S. state of Washington, the Poughkeepsie bridge in the U.S. state of New York and the original Kinzua viaduct in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania are the only other traditional steel trestles that are equal in size to Gokteik.

Gokteik also had the tallest bridge piers in the world at the time of its completion at 97.5 meters. The current record is now held by France's Millau Viaduct. Prior to Millau's record breaking bridge piers of 245 meters, the history of these towering structures has been almost entirely in Europe outside of two U.S. spans. Before Millau the 178 meter piers of Germany's Kochertalbrücke held the record for 25 years. Before Kocher the tallest were the 147 meter pier of Italy's Rago Viaduct. Austria held the record before Rago with the famous 145 meter tall piers of Europabrücke. Before that California's Pit River Bridge had the tallest at 109 meters.

Before California's Pit River crossing, the tallest purely concrete and stone pier was on France's Fades Viaduct at 92.3 meters along with Switzerland's 99 meter tall Sitter Viaduct (depending on where you measure the top). Prior to Fades and Sitter was Gokteik at 97.5 meters. Before Gokteik the tallest steel bridge pier was the central tower of the Kinzua Viaduct at 87 meters. Before Kinzua the 1862 Grandfrey Viaduct of Switzerland held the record with steel and stone piers 79.5 meters high. In 1857 the Crumlin Viaduct was the tallest with purely steel piers 64 meters tall while the 1856 Sitter Viaduct had stone and iron piers of approximately 56 meters in height. The 1852 Portage Viaduct had masonry and timber piers of 67 meters. Prior to Portage there were few true "piers" of great height, only stone aqueducts such as the Pont Roquefavour in France and the Ponte Delle Torri in Spoleto, Italy with structural heights of 82 meters. Spain's Puente Nuevo or New Ronda Bridge also has a structural height in the 100 meter height range though the masonry walls hug the sides of the gorge cliff more like a giant foundation then a true stand-alone pier or aqueduct.

Gokteik bridge can be reached by taking a train from Mandalay or Pyin U Lwin north towards Nawnghkio where the bridge is located about 3 miles (5 kms) further east. A round trip ticket from Mandalay to the bridge costs around $8 for foreigners. Burmese soldiers are stationed on the train as well as on top of and underneath the bridge to prevent any potential attacks.

1.2 Image by Marisa Herrera.

1.3 Image by Marisa Herrera.

1.4 Image by Marisa Herrera.

 1.5 Image by Florian Grupp.

1.6 Image by Marisa Herrera.

 1.7 A small trestle is located beneath the Gokteik Viaduct and was probably used to bring in materials to build the massive trestle. Image by Florian Grupp.

 1.8 Gokteik Viaduct postcard.

 1.9 Gokteik Viaduct satellite image. The bridge can faintly be seen in the very center of the image.

1.10Gokteik Viaduct location map.

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Goteik viaduct

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Goteik viaduct ဂုတ်ထိပ်တံတား
Coordinates	22°20′35″N 96°51′35″ECoordinates: 22°20′35″N 96°51′35″E
Carries	1 rail track
Crosses	Gohtwin Stream
Locale	Nawnghkio, between Lashioand Pyin Oo Lwin
Official name	Goteik viaduct
Other name(s)	Gohteik viaduct
Maintained by	Ministry of Rail Transportation
Characteristics
Design	Trestle[1]
Total length	689 metres (2,260 ft)
Width	single rail track
History
Construction start	28-4-1899
Construction end	1-1-1900
Opened	1-1-1900
Statistics
Daily traffic	Daily two trains. Mandalay to Lashio and Lashio to Mandalay.
Toll	USD 4,00/ MMK 3950

The Goteik viaduct (Burmese: ဂုတ်ထိပ်တံတား, also known as Gohteik viaduct) is a railway trestle in Nawnghkio, western Shan State, Myanmar (also known as Burma). The bridge is between the two towns of Pyin Oo Lwin, the summer capital of the former British colonial administrators of Burma, and Lashio, the principal town of northern Shan State. It is the highest bridge in Myanmar and when it was completed, the largest railway trestle in the world. It is located approximately 100 km northeast of Mandalay.

The bridge was constructed in 1899 by the Pennsylvania and Maryland Bridge Construction Company, and opened in 1900.^[2] The components were made by the Pennsylvania Steel Company and were shipped from the United States. The rail line was constructed help expand the influence of the British Empire in the region. The construction project was overseen by Sir Arthur Rendel, engineer for the Burma Railway Company.^[3]

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1Bridge data
• 2Diversion
• 3Mention
• 4See also
• 5References
• 6Links

Bridge data[edit]

Gokteik viaduct in 1899 or 1900

The viaduct measures 689 metres (2,260 ft) from end to end, and includes 15 towers which span 12 metres (39 ft), along with a double tower 24 metres (79 ft) long. The 15 towers support 10 deck truss spans of 37 metres (121 ft) along with six plate girder spans 18 metres (59 ft) long, and an approach span of 12 metres (39 ft). Many sources have put the height of the bridge at 250 metres (820 ft). That is supposedly a measurement to the river level as it flows underground through a tunnel at the point where it passes underneath the trestle. The true height of the bridge, as measured from the rail deck to the ground on the downstream side of the tallest tower, is 102 metres (335 ft). The cost of construction was £111,200.^[4]

Due to its technical and natural condition it is considered a masterpiece of world standard.^{[citation needed]}

Diversion[edit]

Because the line from Mandalay to Lashio is considered to be of strategic value, a diversionary route to the valley floor, featuring spectacular horseshoe curves, was built in 1976-1978, to keep trains running even if the Goteik viaduct was sabotaged. Those tracks were still visible from the viaduct in 2013, but the diversionary line has been left to the tropical vegetation since 2002.^[5]

Mention[edit]

The bridge is mentioned in Paul Theroux's acclaimed travelogue The Great Railway Bazaar. He described the viaduct as "a monster of silver geometry in all the ragged rock and jungle, its presence was bizarre".

See also[edit]

• Rail transport in Myanmar

References[edit]

1. Jump up^ "Gokteik Viaduct". Highestbridges.com. Retrieved 2011-03-11.
2. Jump up^ Turk, J. D. (September 1901). "Building An American Bridge In Burma". The World's Work. New York, NY: Doubleday, Page & Co. II (5): 1148–1167. Retrieved April 29,2012.
3. Jump up^ [History of rail transport in Burma]
4. Jump up^ [|Nawnghkio township profile 2009 by Township Peace and Development Council]
5. Jump up^ Hettler, Dieter (1 November 2004). "Update from Myanmar". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 1 May 2014.

Links[edit]

• Gokteik Viaduct
• Images of Goteik Viaduct and surroundings, Myanmar