Ahvaz city is the capital of Khuzestan province. This city is considered the largest city in Khuzestan. The White Bridge and the Black Bridge of Ahvaz are among the beauties of this city. The time of construction of both bridges goes back to the first Pahlavi period, the first half of the 20th century AD.
The Karun River has divided the city of Ahvaz into two halves. This river passes through the middle of the city and divides different parts of Ahvaz into new and old. To cross from one side of the river to the other, it was necessary to build some bridges on it. This was the main reason for the construction of these bridges.
The History and Characteristics of Ahvaz Black Bridge
During the Sassanid dynasty, there was a bridge called Shadorvan on the Karun river. With the construction of Iran’s national railway in 1929, the Shadorvan bridge was destroyed. Instead, another bridge was built over Karun. Because the color of the body and its bases were black, it was called the Black Bridge.
During the Second World War, the ammunition of the Russian army was moved over this bridge. This helped the Allied powers win the war. For this reason, this bridge is also called the victory bridge.
On both sides of the black bridge, there is a space (one meter wide) for pedestrian crossing. The center of this bridge is two back-and-forth tracks for the train to pass.
This bridge was listed among Iran’s national works on the 27th of February 1999. Ahvaz Black Bridge is a connecting road between Imam Khomeini port in the southeast of Khuzestan province and Ahvaz railway station. On the other hand, this railway station connects Ahvaz to Khoramshahr-Tehran national railway.
On August 11, 2008, a bomb was planted next to the shrine of Ali bin Mahziyar. Since Ahvaz Black Bridge is located near this shrine, one of its foundations was severely damaged due to this bombing. Also, the middle part of the bridge was burnt in 1344. For this reason, in 2009, this bridge was restored and rebuilt to prevent its destruction.
The History and Characteristics of Ahvaz White Bridge
In 1936, that is, 7 years after the construction of the national railway, the White Bridge was built on the Karun River. Therefore, the black bridge is older than the white bridge.
The main material of this bridge is metal, which is placed on the stone bed of the Karun riverbed with concrete foundations. This bridge has 52 bases. The length of this bridge reaches more than 500 meters and its width reaches 9 meters. In addition, Ahvaz White Bridge is known as the first suspension bridge in Iran.
This bridge has several spans. The diameter of its initial and final opening is 136 and 130 meters, respectively. The three middle openings are 49 meters in diameter. Also, its two side openings are 12 and 20 meters long.
The contract for the construction of this bridge was signed by the Roads and Streets Department of Ahvaz with a Swedish company. Two German youths (a young man with his wife) undertook the project of building the white bridge. The interesting thing about this bridge is that all its parts are connected with bolts and nuts.
This bridge was built for the purpose of crossing the bridge and light vehicles. Today, we see heavy traffic on this bridge, which can cause serious damage to the bridge.
To prevent damage to the bridge, several other bridges were built for the passage of heavy vehicles. The White Bridge is also known as the Silver Crescent. This bridge is one of the symbols of Ahvaz city. It is very spectacular to watch the sunrise and sunset from this bridge.
The white bridge has two concrete arches with lengths of 12 and 20 meters. The installation of the arches of this bridge was very complicated and difficult to build. During the installation of the first arch, the German engineer died. His wife installed the second arch.
This bridge is a connection between old and new Ahvaz. The White Bridge is considered the first bridge in this city for vehicles and pedestrians. The useful life of this bridge is estimated to be 50 years. This bridge was registered as an Iranian national monument on 26 November 1999.
Do not Miss Visiting These Special Attractions
Since Ahvaz is located in the south of the country, it is one of the tropical cities. Therefore, if you want to travel to this beautiful city, autumn and winter are the right times.
If you have traveled to Ahvaz on your own or if you buy a tour to go to this city in form of domestic tour, we recommend you not to miss visiting the Black and White Bridge of Ahvaz. Apart from that, there are other sightseeing spots inside and outside this city, which we recommend reading and familiarizing yourself with Ahvaz tourist attractions before traveling to this city.
