THE ERECTION OF THE GOKTEIK BRIDGE. 8 



lfy Day Allen Willky. 



What is known as the Gokteik Viaduct, recently completed in 

 Burma, Asia, is notable for its height, length, and the remarkably 

 short time in which it was built, considering the obstacles to be over- 

 come. As the bridge was planned and the material made in this coun- 

 try, and most of the important work was done by Americans, it forms 

 another indication of the progress which our bridge-building industry 

 is making abroad. The structure, which is located about 80 miles 

 from Mandalay, connects portions of the line of the Burma Railway 

 Company between Mandalay and Rangoon. It is one of the long- 

 railway bridges of the world, being 2,260 feet in length, and, with 

 two exceptions, it is the highest, the railway track being 320 feet above 

 the natural bridge which forms its foundation. The famous Loa Via- 

 duct in South America is 336 feet high, but only 800 feet in length. 

 The Pecos Viaduct in Texas is 321 feet in height, but 80 feet shorter 

 than the Gokteik structure, while it contains but 1,820 tons of metal. 

 The new Kinzua bridge on the Erie Railway in Pennsylvania is but 

 2,035 feet long and 10 feet lower at its highest point, although it con- 

 tains 3,250 tons of metal. 



The erection of the bridge was begun December 1, 1S09, and com- 

 pleted on October 16, 1000, the construction force consisting of 35 

 emplo} T ees of the Pennsylvania Steel Company, which took the con- 

 tract; 15 Europeans, and about 150 native laborers, secured princi- 

 pally from the vicinity of Calcutta, India. The plans, which were 

 prepared by Mr. J. V. W. Reynders, superintendent of bridge con- 

 struction of the Pennsylvania Company, called for a series of 11 single 

 towers, one double tower, and a rocker bent, which, with the abut- 

 ments, carry ten 120-foot truss spans and seven 60-foot plate-girder 

 spans. The viaduct, for 281 feet at one end and 311 feet at the other 

 end, is curved to a radius of 800 feet, and between these two curves 

 there is a tangent of 1,638 feet. The height of the structure above 

 the ground is 130 feet at one end and 213 feet at the other end. The 

 viaduct was designed to carry a double-track road and a foot walk, but 

 the floor system for the foot walk and one track only is constructed at 



a Reprinted, by permission, from the Scientific American, August 17, 1901. 



611 



