Wikipedia:Today's featured article/May 25, 2023
Bennerley Viaduct is a former railway bridge, now a foot and cycle bridge, in central England, between the town of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, and the village of Awsworth, Nottinghamshire. It was completed in 1877 and opened in 1878 to carry the Great Northern Railway's Derbyshire Extension over the valley of the River Erewash. The site required a bespoke design as the ground would not support a traditional masonry structure. The viaduct consists of 16 spans of lattice truss girders made of wrought iron, carried on 15 wrought-iron piers supported by brick and ashlar bases. It is 60 feet (18 m) high, 26 feet (7.9 m) wide between the parapets, and over a quarter of a mile (400 metres) long. It was once part of a chain of bridges and embankments carrying the railway for 2 miles (3 km) across the valley. Its working life was uneventful except for minor damage inflicted by a Zeppelin bombing raid during World War I. It opened to the public as part of a cycling and walking route in January 2022. (Full article...)