Arch stone bridges scattered all over mainland Greece are inseparably interwoven not only with Greek traditional architecture but also with local and national history, as shown by the countless folk songs and legends linked with them. The arch stone bridge of Plaka, about 50 km from the city of Ioannina, was built over Arachthos River, in a breathtakingly beautiful landscape, on the site of an older bridge that was destroyed in 1860. It was the largest single-arch bridge in the Balkans and the third largest one in Europe, as it was 21 meters high and 71 meters long, with an arch span of 40 meters. In 1863 it was built from scratch with a grant of Dimitrios Arvanitoyannis from the nearby village of Pramanta, but it collapsed again shortly after its formal inauguration. It was reconstructed in 1866 and the cost, which amounted to 170,000 piastres, was covered by the banker Ioannis Loulis and donations from the local communities. Unfortunately, in 2007, the bridge collapsed almost entirely due to heavy rains and in February 2015 what remained of the central part collapsed and was washed away by a flash flood. The government responded immediately and the National Metsovian Technical University of Athens undertook to design and plan the restoration of the historical bridge. Nirikos Techniki SA and Iliopoulos Bros General Partnership are cooperating in this awesome construction project, which is already underway, while PROLAT contributes the materials needed. The restoration of this historical monument, which is considered to be one of the greatest challenges in the technical construction sector worldwide, proceeds based on the specifications of the original materials of the old bridge. The materials used for the reconstruction are the certified products of PROLAT used by the archaeological services for plasters and grouting. Several local masons and stone hewers contribute their valuable experience, giving stones the desirable form and shape with their hammers and chisels, to ensure a final result as close as possible to the original structure. PROLAT feels greatly honoured to participate in the reconstruction of this emblematic bridge and is proud to have a hand in the materialization of such a momentous project by contributing its quality materials.
