Bridge over the Trient, Arch bridge in Vernayaz, Switzerland
The Pont de Gueuroz is a reinforced-concrete arch bridge over the Trient gorge between Vernayaz and Salvan, 168 m long with a 98.6 m main span. Its slender arch carries a 5 m wide deck joined without a joint to a massive parapet wall that also stiffens the structure. The deck climbs at 5%, so its highest point lies over 190 m above the Trient. Since 1994 only pedestrians and cyclists use it.
The bridge opened in 1934 as part of the infrastructure development in the Valais region during that era. It reflects the engineering ambitions of the period when concrete structures began transforming mountain transportation.
The bridge is listed as a class B Swiss cultural property of regional significance and was fully restored in 2004–2005. In 1964 a photograph of it was shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and it is lit at night. Since 1994 pedestrians and cyclists use the old deck while motor traffic takes the newer bridge beside it.
The old bridge is closed to cars: since 1994 motor traffic uses the newer bridge beside it, while walkers and cyclists keep the 1934 deck. The deck climbs at 5%, so the far end sits over 190 m above the Trient. The old road from Vernayaz to Salvan, with its 37 hairpin bends, survives as a hiking path.
The bridge was photographed and shown at New York's Museum of Modern Art in 1964, and it is lit at night. It is listed as a B-object of regional significance and was fully restored in 2004–2005. Its designer, Alexandre Sarrasin, beat Robert Maillart in the competition for the commission.
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