The Pont del Diable unveils the restored Roman arch

BarcelonaThe Devil's Bridge, which connects Castellbisbal (Vallès Occidental) and Martorell (Baix Llobregat), unveiled its restored Roman arch this Sunday. The work was completed more than a decade after the first collapses, which alerted authorities to the structure's fragility. The total cost of the project was €412,369.51, fully funded by the Barcelona Provincial Council. "It was badly damaged and in very poor condition," explained Joan Closa, the Barcelona Provincial Council's Heritage Manager. For the past eleven months, a technical team worked on a restoration that primarily involved injecting a mortar specifically designed to be compatible with the arch's structural issues and the existing 2,000-year-old materials. The major challenge of the intervention has been securing the stones that were detaching from the Roman fill, as well as controlling the surface erosion of the surrounding Roman mortar, since it is exposed to the elements and undergoing continuous degradation, and improving the stability of the protruding sections of this mortar or concrete.

"The arch is stable now; we can rest easy because most of the problems caused by water seepage have been resolved. The interior of the arch, which was half empty, has been filled, and the soot has been cleaned," explained the Diputación technician responsible for the work. From an aesthetic point of view, the aim was for the intervention to be "unnoticeable." Although the color difference between the original and restored sections is currently evident, Closa assured that the passage of time will improve the restoration's outcome because "the patina and rainwater will cause that very white color to gradually fade." The work also included cleaning and repairing the immediate surroundings of the archway entrance on the Castellbisbal side, where some gaps in the Roman-era stone slabs were filled and the protective treatments and finishes of the railings were renewed. The inauguration was attended by the President of the Barcelona Provincial Council, Lluïsa Moret; the Deputy for Facilities, Urban Infrastructure and Architectural Heritage, Marc Castells; the Mayor of Castellbisbal, Maria Dolors Conde; and the First Deputy Mayor of Martorell, Lluís Amat.