Segovia Viaduct

The initial concept was started in 1736 by the Italian Juan Bautista Sacchetti, one of the architects who worked on the construction of the Royal Palace. The project ultimately failed to come to fruition. This idea of a viaduct for urban design motivation was proposed again by the royal architect Silvestre Perez during the reign of Joseph Bonaparte (1808-1813). This time, the project also failed to materialize due to lack of monetary resources.

Although the urbanization ideas of Silvestre Perez were not fully implemented, the road which would become Bailén underwent a full remodeling. This involved the expropriation and demolition of several residential and religious buildings, including what was considered the oldest church in Madrid, the Santa Maria de la Almudena, in 1868. Construction of the new Almudena Cathedral began in 1879, this time adjacent to the Royal Palace on Bailén Street. The demolitions continued until 1883. On January 31, 1872 the first piece of iron was placed. The bridge was originally built in 1874 by the city engineer Eugene Barron Avignon, within the overall reform project based on Bailen Street, involving the creation of a large avenue, oriented nearly north-south, uniting two monuments, the Royal Palace and the San Francisco el Grande Basilica. This operation greatly improved the immediate neighborhood that was somewhat isolated, which is traditionally called morería vieja, the old Moorish quarter.

The first iron bridge was considered a technological and engineering feat at the time due to its great span. Crossing Segovia Street at a height of 23 meters, it had a length of 120 meters and was 13 meters wide, capable of withstanding pressures of four kilos per square meter. It was inaugurated on 13 October 1874.

In 1931, The poor condition of the old viaduct caused the government of the Second Republic to hold a competition to design the current one; the contest was canceled by the College of Architects and reconvened the following year. The winning project was by the architect Francisco Javier Ferrero Lluisa. The primitive wood-and-iron viaduct was finally demolished in 1932, after a great deal of rehabilitation and reinforcement in the 1920s, since the first cracks were detected in 1925. The work was completed in 1934. The winning project was characterized by the use of polished concrete, affixed in granite piers.

The viaduct was damaged significantly by artillery in the Siege of Madrid during the Spanish Civil War, due to its proximity to the front lines. It was restored to original specifications and reopened on 28 March 1942. The traffic had become very intense, as Bailén Street had major automobile traffic in the 1950s and 1960s. The design of the viaduct was calculated for trams with thirteen-ton axle loads, which was ideal in the 1920s. By the early 1970s demand and structural load had become much greater than those calculated in the twenties.

Night view of Segovia Viaduct.

Viaducto de Segovia in 2009.

In 1974, in light of the results of a technical study of its deterioration, its restoration was proposed to Madrid City Hall. The same year its weight load was lightened by restricting use and traffic was completely halted on the viaduct in 1976. Bailén traffic was completely disrupted for a few years in the seventies. After considering the possibility of demolition and substituting it for a more modern one, a decision was finally made to refurbish and preserve it, which was carried out between 1977 and 1978, This reconstruction retains the shape of the second viaduct, increasing its height by two meters, its span by almost 200 meters, and its traffic capacity.