Puente ferroviario Maule, Railway bridge in Maule, Chile

The Maule Railway Bridge is a riveted Warren lattice-girder bridge, the first of its kind built by Chileans, on the old Ferrocarril al Sur line between Maule and San Javier stations. It originally measured 440 m in spans of 50 and 60 m; about 340 m remain standing. Its four lattice girders, each 220 m long, rest on masonry abutments and piers later replaced with reinforced concrete, and arched bracing connects the girder pairs.

The bridge was built to replace provisional wooden railway bridges over the Lircay, Maule and Ñuble rivers, which had to be rebuilt each year after summer floods and could halt southbound trains for up to 30 days. Work began in January 1883 with the diversion of the river's north bank; the masonry piers and foundations were built under engineer Domingo Víctor Santa María, and Lever, Murphy & Co. of Caleta Abarca won the contract for the 1,320-tonne wrought-iron superstructure on 30 May 1883. The bridge opened on 11 April 1885, inaugurated by Interior Minister José Manuel Balmaceda alongside the Lircay bridges. On 7 September 1909 a freight train derailment destroyed about 40 m of the second northern span, which had to be rebuilt completely.

The bridge's name comes from the Maule River it crosses, on the old Ferrocarril al Sur line between Maule and San Javier stations. At its 1885 inauguration, large Chilean flags closed off the entrance and the delegation lunched on the riverbank. Interior Minister José Manuel Balmaceda used his speech to praise Chilean workers and urged builders to enlarge their workshops for future projects.

The bridge is out of service and lies at km 264 of the old Ferrocarril al Sur line, between the Maule and San Javier stations. About 340 m of the original 440 m remain standing, with the deck resting on masonry piers later replaced by reinforced concrete. It is a structure to view from the riverbanks, not to cross.

The bridge was load-tested before opening with a 49 m train weighing 300 tonnes, at rest and at 50 km/h. Lateral movement measured 6 mm in all spans; deflection was 11 mm in the 60 m spans and 7.9 mm in the 50 m spans.