Neuquén–Cipolletti bridges
In 1896, due to territorial disputes with Chile, the Argentinian Government commissioned the British-owned company Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway (Spanish: Ferrocarril del Sud) to expand the existing railroad tracks from the city of Bahía Blanca, in the Buenos Aires Province, to the Neuquén National Territory.
The expansion of the railroad was aimed at facilitating the quick transport of troops and supplies to the Chilean border in case of war.
[1] A previous contract proposal by the Southern Railway was rejected in 1895 by the Argentine Chamber of Deputies, as the company desired to lay tracks until General Roca, Río Negro or the confluence of the Limay and Neuquén rivers to avoid building a bridge on the site of the current city of Neuquén.
The Chamber of Deputies felt that the construction of a railway bridge was necessary to guarantee the movement of Argentinian troops to the rest of the region in case the river flooded.
The journey between the city of Buenos Aires and the capital of the Territory lasted fifteen days, while the mail service arrived once a month.
Living in a sparse group of houses, the settlers' economy was sustained by the agriculture, while they depended on boat and canoe services to cross the river and remain communicated with the rest of the country.
A tide gauge was placed in Paso de los Indios, one of the headwaters of the Neuquén River to measure the changes on the water level.
The telegraph office at Paso de los Indios would update mornings and nights the workers with the level of water expected at construction site within 24 to 30 hours.
[11] A general store that received supplies from Ingeniero White twice a week was established for the workers to buy wares at low prices, while a cargo depot had to be built close to the construction site.
[12] On July 12, 1900, a telegraph message from Paso de los Indios warned the construction site of an upcoming major flood of the river.
The staff was then ordered to move everything from the construction site to safety at Limay Station only leaving behind provisory bridges and tracks.
Two boats and a speedboat, all steam powered, were ordered to remain on the southern bank and to maintain constant pressure day and night.
The first passing locomotive, number 205, was operated by engineer Antonio Mazzarolo, accompanied by fireman Francesco Della Negra.
After several complaints and stories published in the local press, Governor Carlos H. Rodríguez requested of the National Directorate of Roadways (Spanish: Dirección Nacional de Vialidad) the construction of a road bridge.
On Neuquén's side, 55 cubic metres (1,900 cu ft) of land were removed to create a ten-metre wide roadway.
[20] By February 1937, the works initially directed by engineer Poenitz, and later continued by Lettner were finished two months ahead of schedule.
Both cities were unable to reach a mutual consensus on the location of the bridge, causing the National Directorate of Roadways to drop the project.
The deal included the construction of toll booths for the new and old bridges, operated by the private company Caminos Del Valle S.A.
The ceremony was attended by Argentina's president, Mauricio Macri, the governors of the Neuquén and Rio Negro Provinces Omar Gutiérrez and Alberto Weretilneck respectively, and transport minister Guillermo Dietrich among other officials.
[28] The structure opened without the finished interchanges intended to merge traffic more safely from the provincial route 7 from Neuquén city and Centenario towards Cipolletti, as well as the northern highway (Autovía Norte) to connect Plottier.
