The
Goteik viaduct, located in Nawnghkio, is one of Burma’s most stunning
engineering marvel. Built by the colonial British in the beginning of
the 20th century, this spectacular railway bridge is the highest bridge
in Myanmar and when it was completed, in 1900, it was the largest
railway trestle in the world.
The Goteik viaduct is located in
the center of the country about 100 km northeast of the largest city of
Mandalay, between the two towns of Pyin U Lwin, the summer capital of
the former British colonial administrators of Burma, and Lashio, the
principal town of northern Shan State. The rail line was built 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.
The
viaduct stretches 689 meters from end to end supported by 15 towers.
Many sources have put the height of the bridge at 250 meters. 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 102 meters.
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 at a record breaking height of 245 meters.
Gokteik
bridge can be reached by taking a train from Mandalay or Pyin U Lwin
north towards Nawnghkio where the bridge is located about 5 km further
east. Crossing the bridge by train is a high-wire act. The bridge is
more than a century old, a rather crumbling antique, which adds to the
white-knuckle experience. The train moves at walking speed across the
bridge to avoid the rocking motion that will further damage the bridge
and, possibly, plunge the train into the river below.
The
crossing takes about 25 minutes. The slow, high passage give ample
opportunities for photos. Once you make the crossing, don’t put away the
camera. The northbound train likely will be crossing immediately
afterward, giving photographers a chance to catch a shot of a train on
the bridge.
A
small trestle is located beneath the Gokteik Viaduct and was probably
used to bring in materials to build the massive trestle.
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