Pol Siah

Pol Siah

(Pol-e Pirouzi)
The oldest modern bridge in Ahvaz
Coordinates31°19′58″N 48°40′49″E / 31.33278°N 48.68028°E / 31.33278; 48.68028
CarriesSingle railway track and two footways
CrossesKarun
LocaleAhvaz, Khuzestan, Iran
Other namePol-e Pirouzi
OwnerIslamic Republic of Iran Railways (Southern Region)
Heritage statusNational Heritage no. 2599
Characteristics
DesignSteel superstructure on concrete foundations
MaterialSteel and concrete
Total length1,050 m (3,440 ft)
Width6 m (20 ft)
Height10 m (33 ft)
Piers in water
52
History
Construction end1929
Location
Interactive map of Pol Siah

Pol Siah (Persian: پُل سیاه, romanized: Pol-Siya), also known as Pol-e Pirouzi (Persian: پل پیروزی, romanized: Pol-e Pirūzi), is a railway bridge over the Karun river in Ahvaz, in the Iranian province of Khuzestan. Built during the reign of Reza Shah, it carries a single railway track with a footway on either side and is the oldest modern bridge in the city. The bridge is owned by the Southern Region of the Iranian state railways and links the line to the port of Bandar Imam Khomeini on the Persian Gulf with the Trans-Iranian Railway towards Khorramshahr and Tehran.

Name

During the Second World War the bridge lay on one of the routes used to move supplies, troops and munitions to Soviet forces (see Persian Corridor), and for this reason it became known as the "Victory Bridge" (Pol-e Pirouzi). The name "Pol-e Siyah" (Black Bridge) came into use later, from the black paint of its superstructure and piers.

History

The bridge was built as part of the construction of the Trans-Iranian Railway. Iranian sources date its completion to 1929 (1308 SH). It is 1,050 metres long and about six metres wide, and stands close to the site of an earlier bridge at Ahvaz of Sasanian date known as the Shadorvan Bridge. According to another account, a design was submitted on 31 May 1933 (10 Khordad 1312 SH) by Erik Svendsen, head of the Southern Region operating department of the railway at Ahvaz, to the Iranian ministry of roads, and the bridge was built in 1936–37 (1315 SH) by a German engineer and his wife.

On 6 July 2018 the bridge caught fire, damaging part of its timber decking.

Role in the Trans-Iranian Railway

Pol-e Siah formed part of the southern division of the Iranian railways and connected the port railway at Bandar Imam Khomeini, in southern Khuzestan, with the national network by way of Khorramshahr and Tehran. Its construction coincided with the wider expansion of the Trans-Iranian Railway under Reza Shah. By carrying the line across the Karun it allowed the separate sections of the southern rail network to be joined. The bridge remains in railway use.

Structure

Pol-e Siah is a steel structure whose concrete foundations rest on the rocky bed of the Karun. It is 1,050 metres long, about six metres wide, and carried on 52 piers. The deck carries the railway track, flanked on both sides by footways roughly one metre wide.

Heritage listing

The bridge was added to the Iran National Heritage List on 16 February 2000 (27 Bahman 1378 SH) under registration number 2599.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "پل سیاه اهواز / پل پیروزی در مسیر تاریخ + گزارش تصویری". shooshan.ir (in Persian). Archived from the original on 22 March 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  2. 1 2 "قدیمی‌ترین پل اهواز چرا آتش گرفت؟" [Why did the oldest bridge in Ahvaz catch fire?]. Iranian Students' News Agency (in Persian). 6 July 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  3. ↑ "پل معروف اهواز 77 ساله شد" [Ahvaz's famous bridge turns 77]. Asr-e Iran (in Persian). Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  4. 1 2 Kayhan London. "پل تاریخی سیاه اهواز در آتش سوخت" [Ahvaz's historic Black Bridge burns] (in Persian). Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  5. ↑ "پل سیاه". ToIran (in Persian). Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  6. ↑ "دانشنامهٔ تاریخ معماری و شهرسازی ایران‌شهر" [Iranshahr Encyclopaedia of Architectural and Urban History] (in Persian). Ministry of Roads and Urban Development. Archived from the original on 6 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.