Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Lanespede viaduct is a majestic railway structure built between 1865 and 1867 to connect the railway line crossing the Hautes-Pyrénées. It allows you to cross the Lene River and National Highway 117 (now the A64 motorway in 1989), while catching up on the climb of the Capvern ramp. Built of bricks marked Mine d'Orignac (11,000 m3 transported by ox carts), it extends over 200 meters long and 35 meters high, with 20 arches.

The work, begun on May 8, 1865 and completed on April 1, 1867, proceeded without major accident, a rarity for the time. The first train to take the viaduct in 1869 carried Emperor Napoleon III to the military camp of Lannemezan. This imperial passage marks a symbolic event in the history of the work, now protected as historical monuments since 28 December 1984.

Located on the outskirts of Lanespede, Bégole and Peré, the viaduct illustrates 19th-century engineering and the development of railway infrastructure in Occitanie. Its heritage inscription emphasizes its architectural and historical importance, while at the same time demonstrating the adaptation of landscapes to the industrial needs of the time. The new route of the RN117, built in 1982 under the structure, changed its immediate environment without altering its original structure.

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