The old Puente de Don Poli over Rio Chico above Órgiva in the Alpujarra is long out of use, ever since the A-4132 bypassed it.

When they were building the new bridge, they shored up the old bridge with permanent metal scaffolding to prevent it from collapsing, but that was decades ago but every time the river runs at full spate – something that it has been doing a lot this winter – the bridge foundations are eroded further.

The old bridge was built between 1919 and 1921 and was built at the behest of one Don Policarpo. Local history has it that his daughter died during its construction after a rockfall.

However, the Junta de Andalucía built a new bridge when they modernised the A-4132, which links Órgiva with the upper Alpujarra Granadina.

Some believe that all that metal scaffolding is acting like a dam, with boulders, fallen tree trunks and and earth piling up against the scaffolding, as it is acting like a gigantic sieve.

The problem is that the Junta has enough to do putting right the damage caused by this long string of wet fronts that have damaged roads, bridges and other infrastructure throughout the Province of Granada, as well as the rest of the Region of Andalucía.

(News: Bayacas, Alpujarra, Granada, Andalucia – Source: Rafael Vílchez/Ideal)

Keywords: Puente de Don Poli, A-4132, Old Bridge, Río Chico, Storm Water

news, andalucia, granada, alpujarra, bayacas, puente de don poli, A-4132, old bridge, río chico, storm water