The masonry arch bridges of stone or brick are the most genuine of arch bridges, some lasting a thousand years. Because they are made of worked stone, there is a slight chance they might even stand without mortar, like the Pont du Gard aqueduct. Yet arch bridges using rough hewn stones like Changhong Bridge need mortar to stand. Arches with a core of reinforced concrete covered by facade stone for decoration are not to be included in this list, the load-bearing part of the arch should be cut stone or brick, or as follows, unreinforced concrete.
In a closed spandrel stone arch bridge the hollow space can be filled with rubble and loose material. It can also be filled with concrete, in which case the filling itself become able to bear load in addition to the load carried by the ring of voussoirs. If the voussoir stones are thin they can not take a lot of weight so instead it is the concrete filling that becomes the structural part of the arch. The next step is to remove the voussoir stones completely, or only use them as facade stones. An unreinforced concrete arch is technically a masonry arch that use only very small stones, that is the aggregate of the concrete, sand and gravel. Such an arch would not stand without mortar.
Some modern bridges are built masonry style with precast concrete blocks, like Gladesville Bridge that has a span of 305 metres (1000 ft). These types are not in this list because their blocks are most likely made of reinforced concrete, that may make the assembled arch to have more in common with a modern reinforced concrete arch than a stone masonry arch.
The Maidenhead Railway Bridge may have the two longest arches made of bricks, 39 metres (128 ft).
Building new masonry arch bridges today is a solely Chinese business. There are 18 stone arch bridges with spans exceeding 100m. [1] There are probably several dozens of stone arches exceeding 40m in the Fujian province only. [2] Almost all bridges were built after 1950.
This list contains the longest masonry arch spans ever built being at least 50 metres (164 ft).
| Photo | Rank and Reference |
Name | Location | Land |
Longest span in metres (feet) |
Arch type |
Completed |
Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linked Image | [1] | Danhe Bridge | Shanxi | 146 (479) | ws | 2000 | Deck system concrete[1] | |
| Linked Image | [2] | Wuchaohe Bridge | Fenghuang | 120 (393) | ws | 1990 | Concrete deck | |
| Linked Image | [3] | Jiuxigou Bridge | Sichuan | 116 (380) | ws | 1972 | Deck system concrete | |
| Linked Image | [4] | Changhong Bridge | Yunnan | 112 (369) | ws | 1961 | ||
| [5] p270 | Jin-shan Bridge | Fujian | 99 (324) | ws | 1972 | |||
| [6] | Pont de la Libération | Villeneuve-sur-Lot | 96 (315) | uc | 1919 | There are two very thin parallel arches with a common deck Linked Image | ||
| [7] | de:Syratalviadukt | Plauen | 90 (295) | uc | 1905 | The arch is made of unreinforced concrete[3]. The sides are decorated with facade stone. The bridge has been repaired. | ||
| [8] | Longmen Bridge | Luoyang | 90 (295) | ws | 1961 | One main span... (Linked Image) | ||
| [9] | Solkan Bridge | Nova Gorica | 85 (278) | ws | 1906 | Destroyed. Rebuilt 1927. | ||
| [10] | Adolphe Bridge | Luxembourg City | 84 (275) | ws | 1904 | Reinforced concrete deck. There are two parallel arches with a common deck. | ||
| [11] | Pont de Montanges (Pont-des-Pierres) | Valserine river | 80 (262) | ws | 1910 | Destroyed tramway bridge Linked Image | ||
| [12] | fr:Viaduc de la Roizonne | La Mure | 79 (260) | ws | 1928 | |||
| [13] | Trezzo sull'Adda Bridge | Lombardy | 72 (236) | ws | 1377 | Destroyed in 1416 | ||
| Linked Image | [14] | Steyrling Bridge | de:Pyhrn Railroad | 70 (230) | ws | 1904 | ||
| [15] | Union Arch Bridge | Maryland | 67 (220) | ws | 1864 | Part of the Washington Aqueduct | ||
| [16] | de:Sonnborner Eisenbahnbrücke | Wuppertal | 66 (216) | ws | 1914 | Instead of the keystone there is a steel hinge | ||
| [17] | Gutach Bridge | Höllental Railroad | 64 (209) | ws | 1900 | |||
| [18] [19] [20] | Iller Bridges | Kempten im Allgäu | 64 (209) | uc | 1906 | Three bridges, one a steel truss Linked Image | ||
| [21] | Pont de la Balme | Savoie | 64 (209) | ws | 1946 | The span has two parallel arches | ||
| [22] | de:Luitpoldbrücke (München) | Munich | 63 (206) | ws | 1901 | BW | ||
| [23] | de:Max-Joseph-Brücke | Munich | 63 (206) | ws | 1902 | BW | ||
| [24] | Grosvenor Bridge | Chester | 61 (200) | ws | 1832 | The span is probably 61 m | ||
| [25] | Lavaur Railroad Bridge | Agout River | 61 (200) | ws | 1884 | |||
| [26] | Wechselburg-Göhrer Bridge | Saxony | 60 (196) | ws | 1904 | |||
| Linked Image | [27] | Huanghugang Bridge | Hunan | 60 (196) | ws | 1959 | ||
| [28] [29] | Longmen Bridge | Luoyang | 60 (196) | ws | 1961 | ...and two side spans. (Linked Image) | ||
| [30] | de:Wallstraßenbrücke | Ulm | 57 (187) | uc | 1905 | Destroyed. Piers and deck of reinforced concrete. | ||
| [31] | Ballochmyle Viaduct | Mauchline | 55 (180) | ws | 1848 | Linked Image | ||
| [32] | Wiesen Viaduct | Landwasser River | 55 (180) | ws | 1909 | |||
| [33] | Pélussin Tramway Bridge | Loire | 55 (180) | ws | 1919 | Linked Image | ||
| [34] [35] | Pont de Rabastens | Tarn | 55 (180) | ws | 1924 | Two spans, reinforced concrete deck Linked Image | ||
| [36] | Pont de Vieille-Brioude | Allier River | 54 (177) | ws | 1479 | Collapsed 1822, successor (1832) spans only 45 m (148 ft) | ||
| Linked Image | [37] | Yixiantian Bridge | Chengdu–Kunming Railway | 54 (177) | ws | 1966 | Deck system concrete | |
| [38] | Gignac Bridge | Hérault | 50 (164) | ws | 1810 | |||
| [39] [40] [41] [42] | fr:Viaduc de Nogent-sur-Marne | Val-de-Marne | 50 (164) | ws | 1856 | Four spans, destroyed | ||
| [43] | Munderkingen Bridge | Baden-Württemberg | 50 (164) | uc | 1893 | Destroyed | ||
| [44] | fr:Viaduc des Eaux-salées | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | 50 (164) | ws | 1914 | |||
| Linked Image | [45] [46] | Baisha Bridge | Zhejiang | 50 (164) | ws | 1960 | Two spans |
