Puente ferroviario Toltén, Railway bridge in Pitrufquén, Chile.
The Toltén Railway Bridge is a steel structure spanning the Río Toltén and connecting the communities of Pitrufquén and Freire Arriojas in southern Chile. The construction consists of nine metal sections supported by eight pillars and two abutments positioned across the river.
Construction of the Temuco–Pitrufquén railway, contracted by Gustave Verniory in June 1895, reached the river's north bank in June 1897; pylon work in the riverbed began that August and the metal structures were brought from Santiago. The bridge was assembled by October 1898, and President Federico Errázuriz Echaurren attended its inauguration on 13 November 1898. The line was extended to Loncoche in 1902.
The bridge is at kilometre point 717 of FEPASA's Línea Central Sur, about 3 km from Freire station and 1 km from Pitrufquén station. Its opening on 13 November 1898 drew President Federico Errázuriz Echaurren, War and Navy Minister Carlos Palacios Zapata, soldiers and local residents. Freight trains of Ferrocarril del Pacífico have used it under contract since 1994.
The bridge carries the Línea Central Sur at kilometre point 717, about 3 km from Freire station on the north bank and 1 km from Pitrufquén station on the south. It is a railway structure with no pedestrian walkway, so it is viewed from the riverbanks and nearby roads rather than crossed on foot. The deck stands 20 m above the Toltén riverbed.
In 2016 the bridge experienced a significant collapse that required complete reconstruction, which finished in 2020 using modern engineering standards. This rebuilding was an important undertaking for the region as it restored the railway connection between the two communities.
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