Viaduct

Viaduct
The 1812 Laigh Milton Viaduct in Ayrshire – the oldest surviving railway bridge in Scotland
The 1812 Laigh Milton Viaduct in Ayrshire – the oldest surviving railway bridge in Scotland
AncestorTrestle bridge, Box girder bridge
RelatedAqueduct
DescendantNone
CarriesExpressways, highways, streets, railways
Span rangeShort (multiple)
Materialreinforced concrete, prestressed concrete, masonry
MovableNo
Design effortmedium
Falsework requiredavailable for use, since viaducts are all composed of low bridges.

A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide valley, road, river, or other low-lying terrain features and obstacles.[1][2] The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via meaning "road", and ducere meaning "to lead". It is a 19th-century derivation from an analogy with ancient Roman aqueducts.[1] Like the Roman aqueducts, many early viaducts comprised a series of arches of roughly equal length.

  1. ^ a b "viaduct – Definition of viaduct in English by Oxford English Dictionary". OED. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Definition of VIADUCT". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 27 March 2018.