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Poiney Viaduct

The viaduct over the River Poiney was constructed for the Madras Railway over three years and was completed in 1856. George Barclay Bruce was the Chief Engineer for the construction .

It was necessary to develop special techniques of bridge building in sandy foundations upon brick wells sunk by native divers, as described in his Paper on the Poiney Viaduct presented to The Institution in 1857 - "Description of the Method of Building Bridges upon Brick Wells in Sandy Foundations, illustrated by the Viaduct over the River Poiney, on the Line of the Madras Railway" .

"The Illustrated London News", 12 December 1857 carried an illustration of the with title ""Viaduct on Madras Railway across the river Poiney in Arcot" <ref>"Viaduct on Madras Railway across the river Poiney in Arcot ; Chennai ; Tamil Nadu ; India"

Under this illustration is the following text:-

"The Madras Railway - The works of this fine line of railway present a noteworthy instance of the means by which British capital and enterprise benefits upon India.

The handsome structure which we have selected for the illustration has been built by the Madras Railway Company for carrying their line over the River Poiney, in the classic land of Arcot in Southern India. The bridge is constructed in granite of a superior description, and consists of fifty-six arches, each of 20 feet span. Some difficulty was experienced in constructing the foundations, as nothing was met with but sand of a great depth. To meet this difficulty brick cylinders, or walls, as they are called in India, were sunk about 15 feet below the surface, and on these cylinders the bridge is founded. About three years were spent in constructing the bridge, the total cost of which was about £13,000, including engineering superintendence.

The chief engineer of the line at the time of construction of this bridge was Mr George Barclay Bruce....."