Goteik viaduct
{{Short description|Railway trestle in Shan State, Myanmar}}
{{Infobox bridge
| bridge_name = Goteik viaduct
ဂုတ်ထိပ်တံတား
| image = Goteik viaduct 2, Shan State, Myanmar.jpg
| caption =
| official_name = Goteik viaduct
| also_known_as = Gohteik viaduct
| carries = 1 rail track
| crosses = Gohtwin Stream
| locale = Nawnghkio, between Lashio and Pyin Oo Lwin
| maint = Ministry of Rail Transportation
| id =
| design = Trestle{{cite web | url=http://www.highestbridges.com/wiki/index.php?title=Gokteik_Viaduct | title=Gokteik Viaduct | accessdate=2011-03-11 | publisher=Highestbridges.com | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123150052/http://highestbridges.com/wiki/index.php?title=Gokteik_Viaduct | archive-date=2013-01-23 | url-status=dead }}
| mainspan =
| length = {{convert|689|m|ft}}
| width = single rail track
| clearance =
| below =
| traffic = Daily two trains. Mandalay to Lashio and Lashio to Mandalay.
| begin = 28-4-1899
| complete = 1-1-1900
| open = 1-1-1900
| closed =
| map_cue =
| map_image =
| map_text =
| map_width =
| coordinates = {{coord|22|20|35|N|96|51|35|E|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
}}
The Goteik viaduct ({{langx|my|ဂုတ်ထိပ်တံတား}}, MLCTS: gu.hti.ta.aa., also known as Gohteik viaduct or Gok Hteik viaduct{{cite web|author=The Irrawaddy|title=Resistance troops capture strategic bridge in northwestern Shan State|url=https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=896584462496712&set=a.605715791583582|website=Facebook|publisher=Meta Platforms Inc.|access-date=July 7, 2024|date=July 6, 2024}}) is a railway trestle over the Goteik Gorge of the Myitnge River in western Shan State, Myanmar (also known as Burma). The bridge is between the two towns of Nawnghkio and Gokhteik, and it's part of the railways between 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.{{Cite journal|last=Turk|first=J. D.|title=Building An American Bridge In Burma|journal=The World's Work|volume=II|issue=5|pages=1148–1167|publisher=Doubleday, Page & Co.|location=New York, NY|date=September 1901|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IF6tNZnhO7wC&pg=PA1148|accessdate=April 29, 2012}} The components were made by the Pennsylvania Steel Company and were shipped from the United States. The rail line was constructed to 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.[History of rail transport in Burma]
Bridge data
The viaduct measures {{convert|689|m|ft}} from end to end, and includes 15 towers which span {{convert|12|m|ft}}, along with a double tower {{convert|24|m|ft}} long. The 15 towers support 10 deck truss spans of {{convert|37|m|ft}} along with six plate girder spans {{convert|18|m|ft}} long, and an approach span of {{convert|12|m|ft}}. Many sources have put the height of the bridge at {{convert|250|m|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 {{convert|102|m|ft}}. The cost of construction was £111,200.[|Nawnghkio township profile 2009 by Township Peace and Development Council]
Due to its technical and natural condition it is considered a masterpiece of world standard.{{Citation needed|date=March 2018}}
Diversion
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.{{cite web
|url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/update-from-myanmar.html
|title=Update from Myanmar
|work=Railway Gazette International
|date=1 November 2004
|last=Hettler
|first=Dieter
|accessdate=1 May 2014
|archive-date=19 March 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319022645/http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/update-from-myanmar.html
|url-status=dead
}}
Mention
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".{{cite book | last=Theroux | first=Paul | title=The great railway bazaar : by train through Asia | publisher=Hamish Hamilton | publication-place=London | year=1975 | isbn=978-0-14-103884-1 | oclc=232365440 | page=212}}
See also
- Rail transport in Myanmar
- Wohlers, David. Potential structural deficiencies within the Gokteik Viaduct Railway Bridge in Upper Burma (https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/full/10.1680/jenhh.21.00102?src=recsys)
- Wohlers, David C., and Tony Waters. 2022. "The Gokteik Viaduct: A Tale of Gentlemanly Capitalists, Unseen People, and a Bridge to Nowhere" Social Sciences 11, no. 10: 440. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/10/440
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Commons category|Gokteik Viaduct}}
{{Rail transport in Myanmar}}
Category:Railway bridges in Myanmar