The highest road viaduct gives Romanians shivers. What state has the bridge crossed by thousands of cars reached after 60 years?
The highest viaduct built in the 60s is causing shivers in many Romanians, due to its state of degradation. The viaduct is transited by thousands of cars daily, and the passage of time has left deep traces in its structure.
Crivadia viaduct. Photo: Daniel Guță. TRUTH
The National Road 66 Simeria – Petroșani, 80 kilometers long, was modernized in the 60s to make the Ji Valley mining area more accessible from the historical regions of Transylvania and Banat. Asphalting began in 1961, the works being carried out by the workers and engineers of the former construction company in Deva and by those of the Timișoara Roads and Bridges Directorate.
The Crivadia viaduct, 60 years old
The most difficult work of art was the Crivadia viaduct, which rises over 100 meters above the Crivadia Gorge, at the foot of the medieval Crivadia tower.
“On the Petroșani-Hațeg road, the Crivadia viaduct is being worked on, which will be the highest construction of its kind in our country. When carrying out this important work, which involves ingenious technical solutions, the Enterprise of Special Works and Bridges uses, with increased efficiency, metal skeletons instead of wooden ones. They allow improving the quality of the works, shortening the execution period and achieving a saving of almost half a million lei”the newspapers reported in 1966.
The last road section of the national road, Crivadia – Petroșani, 17 kilometers long and the most spectacular of the route, was inaugurated in 1966, with the completion of the Crivadia viaduct.
“The new bridges and viaducts, some of which are bold works of art, placed in picturesque places, contribute to the flow of car traffic, which has been increasingly congested lately. Thus, the viaduct near the village of Crivadia, on the Haţeg-Petroşani national road (DN 66), crosses the valley of the Crivadia river through an arch made of four concrete beams. Nearby, on the left of the road, a guard tower from the Middle Ages crowns a height”, informs the press of the time.
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Crivadia Viaduct Photo Daniel Guță THE TRUTH (25) jpg
In the 60s, the viaduct was considered the highest such work in Romania. From its foothills, travelers entered Cheile Crivadiei, a calcareous canyon with a length of about one kilometer, carved by the waters in the southwestern part of the Runcu hill (788 meters altitude). The narrowness of the walls of the gorges and their verticality did not allow the formation of paths through which they could slip, and the deep waters make it difficult to cross the Gorges.
From the bridge, travelers can climb a path to the medieval Crivadia Tower. The circular construction rises on a hill above the village of Crivadia in Hunedoara and the Hațeg – Petroșani road, offering a spectacular panorama over the Haţeg Country and the Retezat and Șureanu mountains. It would have been erected in 1528, but it has not been used for several centuries. It was restored in the early 60s, and is currently a historical monument and tourist attraction.
The viaduct, increasingly degraded
National Road 66 Simeria – Petroșani was modernized in the 2000s, with difficulties and delays, but the six-decade-old viaduct continued to deteriorate.
The construction shows visible deterioration of the reinforced concrete structure, with numerous cracks and deep cracks at the level of piles, exfoliation and detachment of concrete. Metal reinforcements are exposed and affected by corrosion in some places, and seepage accelerates the deterioration process. The supporting arches, in turn, show cracks, and under the viaduct the detached materials have formed piles of stone and construction debris.
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Crivadia Viaduct Photo Daniel Guță THE TRUTH (13) JPG
“Technical revisions were carried out by the specialized staff from SDN Deva and DRDP Timișoara, following which an expertise of the viaduct was carried out by SC Valuor Project SRL. Following this expertise, the necessary works were established to bring the structure to its original state. At the present date, according to the technical expertise, the viaduct is classified as technical condition class III, satisfactory condition, i.e. it requires repair/consolidation works”. sent the Timișoara Regional Directorate of Roads and Bridges, in a response to Adevărul.
According to the institution's representatives, for the year 2026, depending on the budget allocations, the viaduct will be included in the work program for the elaboration of the documentation in the DALI phase. Later, also depending on the budget allocations, the procedure for the purchase of design services in the PT phase and the execution of intervention works will follow, DRDP Timișoara also specified.
