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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Caramel viaduct was built as part of the departmental tramway linking Menton to Sospel, whose project was validated in 1906. This ambitious construction site, requiring significant technical resources for its reinforced concrete design and electrification of the line, was completed in 1911. The inauguration took place on 30 March 1912, marking the beginning of a regular operation for the transport of passengers (150 to 200 per day) and goods (1,581 tons in 1913), including ancillary services such as the post office. The line, 11 km long with a 569 m elevation, crossed natural obstacles thanks to works such as the Viaduct du Caramel, located near Castillon, and a tunnel avoiding the road pass.

By the end of the 1920s, competition from the Nice-Coni line for freight and the opening of a bus line for passengers in 1929 precipitated the decline of the tramway. Despite its initial role in local service and heavy freight transport, the line was permanently closed in 1931 and downgraded in 1933. The viaduct, now owned by the commune of Castillon, was inscribed in the Historical Monuments by order of 24 October 2022 for its heritage value linked to the history of regional rail transport.

The work is distinguished by its strategic location on the departmental road 2566, near the hamlet of Monti and the village of Castillon. It allowed the tram to negotiate a hairpin before reaching Sospel, the end of the line. Its reinforced concrete construction, an innovative technique for the time, reflects the topographical challenges of the region and the industrial ambitions of the early twentieth century in the Alpes-Maritimes. The nearby Carei viaduct completed this device to cross the eponymous valley.

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