Viaducto de Loa, Railway bridge in Conchi, Antofagasta Region, Chile
The Loa Viaduct is a steel bridge spanning 244 meters across the Loa River and standing about 103 meters above the water level. Today the structure carries pipes and allows restricted road access rather than its original railway function.
The viaduct was built in 1887 and 1888 to carry the Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia across the Loa River, 68 km from Calama. When it opened in 1888 it was the second highest rail bridge in the world, after the Garabit viaduct. In 1914 the railway was realigned and the bridge was left carrying only pipes and a cordoned-off road.
The Ministry of Education declared the Loa Viaduct a National Monument of Chile through Decree 156 on June 3, 2015.
The viaduct stands 68 km from Calama on the Loa River, reached by road from the city. The deck is not open to pedestrians: it carries only pipes and a cordoned-off road, so visitors view the structure from the surrounding ground rather than crossing it.
When it opened in 1888, only the Garabit Viaduct in France stood higher among railway bridges. The railway was moved to a different alignment in 1914, so trains no longer cross the Loa; the deck now carries pipes and a cordoned-off road.
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