The storms of the WWI relentlessly damaged the railway bridge. Russian forces stepping back from Olita  exploded the span and pier of the railroad bridge in August 1915.
Having seized Olita the Germans started the construction of the new bridge.

 Martial Railway Bridge

  Bridge wreckage fell into the river and can't be removed fast therefore new structure was designed beside the old one.
  Each of 17 m long clearances were spanned with four stringers between timber piers. Each stringer was constructed of three I-beams (double T beams). Bridge approached eastern bank by 23 m long timber trestles. All structure was 291.6 m long.
   Three railroad platoons, two platoons of field engineers, one platoon of workers and about 900 Russian prisoners of war took part in the construction. Construction took only 63 days (24 September – 25 November). 
  To protect the bridge from ice-drift the starlings were built before each pillar and pole footings were bound with thick battens and plated with 5mm thick steel. The abutments were reinforced by stones and cement bags from being washed away.
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Train passing the bridge in 1915 or 1916
from collection by Henrikas Kebeikis
 The bridge sustained the ice-drift of 1915 - 1916 difficultly. Therefore it was decided to modify the construction: two central abutments were moved away, in order to improve the pass of trash-ice. The modified clearances became 34 m wide therefore superstructure were strengthened by steel trusses.  Timber piers neighbouring wide clearances also were reinforced. The bridge was modernised by Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nurnberg A.-G., Werk Gustavsburg and train service was not shut during reconstruction.
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Temporary bridge  during modification in 1916
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  The timber bridge was not very steady and heavy cargos were not allowed pass along it. However, regular voyages became possible only after 'extreme testing': as professor  Steponas Kolupaila says - it happened so that in 1919 the Lithuanian troops were stepping back from Varena by train and the engine-driver somehow could not stop heavily loaded train and whizzed by along the bridge. This passage could cost the machinist life - the angry soldiers having passed the bridge by the same composition committed lynch.

  Years passed. The aging bridge was swinging and squeaking with every passage of the train. To make traveling safer passengers had to leave the carriages and walk along the bridge afoot and only when the empty train crossed the river they were allow to occupy their seats and continue their travel to Artilerija. Finally the administration of railways was tired of such "tours" and the bridge was shut in January 1926 and bridge deconstruction started. Stock company Dzukija undertook this task. Unhappily, it did not manage to fulfill the work without the misadventures: one of the workers fell down from the height of 35 meters directly into the stream together with a balk, but by sheer luck he avoided severe injuries.

Despite the intentions of restoring the railway Alytus - Varena the bridge has  not been rebuilt since.

In August 2013 JSC Alkesta began the construction of the new bicycle and footbridge on the supports of the old one. At the end of 2015 the construction was finished and footbridge opened in January 2016.


Railway bridge near Alytus in 1925
 
 
 
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Alytus bridge
photograph from collection of Alytus regional studies museum
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Temporary bridge was dismantled in 1926

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