PSI - Issue 84

M.P. Petrangeli et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 84 (2026) 135–142

137

3. Historical description of the bridge The original bridge, with five spans and a total length of 119 meters, was a railway type and was erected between 1862 and 1863 by a Belgian company in order to complete the Roma-Civitavecchia single track railway line; the central span was movable in order to allow the navigation of the Tiber River. All the cast iron elements composing the bridge were prefabricated in England, shipped to the construction site in Roma and assembled by means of riveting.

Fig. 3. Inauguration of the bridge in 1863 by Pope Pio IX

In 1910 the new “San Paul” railway bridge was erected upstream of the river so that the original bridge could be dedicated to road traffic; for this purpose, the two main 46 meters long spans were replaced with new parabolic truss beams completed with a concrete slab.

Fig. 4. Drawings of the bridge renewal at the beginning of the 20 th century

The original piers with a circular hollow section 2800 mm in diameter composed by prefabricated iron cast elements, driven into the river bed and filled with loose conglomerate, remained almost unchanged up to nowadays with their characteristic ornamental capitals.