Italy Bridges 90 to 100 meters

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The Domino-like piers of the massive Taggia Viaduct

At least 100 meters in height is an unknown viaduct on the SS579 near Granara about 45 miles (73 kms) northeast of Rome.

Located near the southern end of the A3 motorway, the Viadotto Costa Viola is scheduled for removal once a bypass tunnel is completed. The height may or may not be over 100 meters.

Stretching more than a mile and a half, the massive Viadotto Villa Santa Maria (97 meters high) casts a shadow across every building in the small town of the same name in the mountains of Italy’s Abruzzo province.

The A20 has so many high beam bridges (90+ meters high) on its Sicily run between Messina and Palermo that it can be difficult to keep track of them all. The Malpertugio may be the highest of the bunch at 122 meters but all of them are impressive as they traverse high above the Mediterranean coast. In the Canneto area alone there are 6 tall viaducts. Others along the A20 can be found at Caronia, Furiano, Inganino, Naso Ponte, Tusa, Pollina and Santo Stefano.

The A10 motorway extends 100 miles (160 kms) along Italy’s Mediterranean coast in the Liguria region from the French border to Genova. Spending much of its time underground, the autostrada might be the only stretch of roadway on earth to have more than 100 tunnels. The route is also filled with dozens of towering viaducts, several that are 90 meters in height. These include the Viadotto Taggia (90 meters high), Viadotto Crovetto (90 meters high) and Valle Latte (90 meters high). Other high viaducts along the A10 include the Viadotto Sasso (80 meters high), the Viadotto Borghetto and a viaduct near Casa Serena.

Ramat Viaduct high in the Italian Alps

The most spectacular viaduct on the Turin-Frejus A32 Autostrada della Valle di Susa that cuts through the Italian Alps, the beautiful twin Ramat Viaduct (90 meters high) connects two tunnels on a curving plan that soars above the Dora Riparia River valley. After plunging into the Ramat tunnel, the highway repeats the process a second time on the lower if nearly as beautiful Viadotto Clarea. The structure is similar to China's Dubu Bridge #2.

The Viadotto Ianello (90 meters high) gets little attention on the famous A3 motorway as it is located just a few miles north of the Italia Viaduct - the highest bridge in Italy.

Ground settlement caused a 131 foot (40 meter) span of the Crollato Viaduct (90 meters high) to drop into the valley in 2009 from two of its highest piers near the southern end of the SS626 near Butera, Sicily. You can see a news clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GtJVzh7v1s

Located on the A15 autostrada 8 miles (13 kms) north of Pontremoli, the Roccaprebalza Viaduct (90 meters high) was the highest double decker road bridge in the world upon its completion in 1975. While hardly an attractive structure, it was still sad to see its replacement in 2008 by two separate viaducts for north-south traffic. The highest double decker bridge in the world is still the Pit River bridge in the U.S. state of California which carries a highway and railway over Lake Shasta.

Located high in the mountains of the huge Majella National Park is the small town and bridge of Salle (90 meters high). A simple 2-lane concrete arch, the span has occasionally hosted bungee jumping.

One of the few concrete arches on the A3 motorway, the Viadotto Aglio (85 meters high) is a beautiful example of the form with a main span of 537 feet (164 mtrs).

Located on the A6 motorway, the Cadibona viaduct (85 meters high) carries only the 2 northbound lanes above the upper reaches of the Torrente Quiliano while the southbound lanes take a circuitous route of tunnels and turns.

Salle arch bridge in Majella National Park

In central Italy on the SS650 road (SS means Strada Statale) there is a succession of two high viaducts. Near the town of Civitanova del Sannio is the Viadotto Gamberale (85 meters high) and just to the east of it at Bagnoli del Trigno there is the Viadotto Trigno (115 meters high) mentioned in the category of bridges over 100 meters high.

On the Genoa-Sestri Levante A12 Autostrada, the Semorile viaduct (85 meters high) cuts across a narrow gorge.

A simple 3-span prestressed concrete bridge, the Mannu viaduct (85 meters high) crosses the Mannu River near the town of Usini. The main span measures 525 feet (160 mtrs) between the centerline of the piers.

Another spectacular crossing on the Ferrovia Trento-Malé rail line is located just beyond the north end of Lake Giustina where the side by side Mostizzolo rail and road bridges (85 and 80 meters high) cross above the river near the town of Cis. Both of these arches are replacements of earlier bridges.

Not far from the Adriatic Sea on the east coast of Italy is the S. Francesco Viadotto (80 meters high) just east of Cagnano Varano.

The Viadotto Volturno (80 meters high) carries SS652 across a wide valley at Cerro al Volturno about 60 miles (100 kms) north of Naples.

Curving around the north end of a small lake, the A27 Autostrada splits into separate north-south bridges that rank among Italy’s longest at over 2 miles in length. The northbound Fadalto (80 meters high) has spans of around 50 meters while the southbound Fadalto (80 meters high) has spans of approximately 110 meters in length.

One of many high bridges on the A12 Autostrada Azzurra, the Ferriere viaduct (80 meters high) rises over a remote valley in a mountainous region of Liguria 5 miles (8 kms) from the Mediterranean coast.

File:PontePaderno d’AddaByMassimoRoselli.jpg
The beautiful ponte Paderno d’Adda

The highest bridge in the world at the time of its probable completion sometime in the 1300s, the Ponte della Torre (80 meters high) in Spoleto, Italy is a massive stone arch bridge with unusually thick piers that make the structure look as much like a wall as a viaduct. The structure serves as both a road crossing and a water aqueduct. Just as there is some question as to the year the bridge was completed, no one is quite sure if the name of the structure - Bridge of Towers - refers to the bridge pillars or the separate towers just past either end of the bridge at the Fortilizio dei Mulini and the Rocca Albornoziana.

The most celebrated of Italy’s steel arch railway bridges, the Ponte Paderno d’Adda (74 meters high) was constructed in 1889 with a span of 492 feet (150 mtrs). The lattice box beam spans above the arch are a rarity as they support a rail line on the bottom and a 2-lane roadway on top. Paderno d’Adda is located 20 miles (32 kms) northeast of Milan.

One of the most extreme 2-lane mountain roads you will encounter in all of Italy and Switzerland, the E27 / SS27 Route du Grand Saint Bernard hangs along mountain sides, twists and winds up and down switch backs and through several tunnels on its journey through the Alps. The highest bridge on the route is the curving viaduct San Leonardo (65 meters high) that cuts across a V-shaped gully near the town of the same name.