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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Carei viaduct was built as part of the departmental tramway linking Menton to Sospel, whose project was implemented 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 Carei viaduct, allowing to cross the valley of the eponymous river near Castillon.

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. The final closure took place in 1931, followed by the decommissioning of the line in 1933. The viaduct, with its retaining walls, was inscribed in the Historical Monuments by order of 24 October 2022, recognizing its heritage importance in the regional railway landscape. Today owned by the commune of Castillon, it bears witness to the bold engineering of the early twentieth century in the Alpes-Maritimes.

The viaduct is part of a series of works of art along the line, including the Monti bridge (wholly reinforced concrete) and the Caramel viaduct. These infrastructures allowed the tram to negotiate topographical constraints, such as the hairpin near Sospel or the tunnel avoiding road pass after Castillon. The Sospel station marked the terminus of this line, both local and cross-border, reflecting the mobility needs of the time in a mountainous and isolated region.

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