Maillart had previously designed a three-hinged arch bridge over the
Rhine at
Tavanasa in 1904. In the span Tavanasa bridge, the arch is thinnest at its crown and springing points, thickening in between to reflect the shape of its
bending moment diagram. This bridge was destroyed by an avalanche in September 1927. Although Maillart didn't win the contract for a replacement bridge, he entered a competition the following year for the bridge at Salginatobel, with a three-hinged arch spanning that used the same overall form as at Tavanasa. In conjunction with contractor Florian Prader, Maillart's design was the least expensive of nineteen entries. The Salginatobel bridge arch is long in total, and its main element is a hollow concrete
box girder over the central part of the arch. It carries a roadway wide, supported on reinforced concrete pillars above the ends of the arches. However, by 1991, deterioration had continued, with the parapets becoming unsafe. The waterproofing and drainage were replaced and amended, and most of the existing concrete surface removed and replaced by
shotcrete. The parapets were completely rebuilt. Completed in 1998, this repair work cost 1.3 million US dollars. == Praise and criticism ==