Previously, concrete bridges were constructed for road traffic, but it was not until World War I that the calculation methods became reliable enough to use the material for railways. At this time, steel reinforcement in concrete bridges also began to be used. This enabled constructions comparable to both the strength and durability of steel.

These early concrete bridges largely built upon the old arch bridge design. An example is the bridge over Flåsjö River, on the Inland Line between Östersund and Hoting. It was built in 1912 and can be considered SJ's first significant concrete bridge. It had a span of 35 metres, and the model next to it shows the bridge under construction. During casting, the arch was supported by a wooden framework.

The attitude towards the new material, concrete, was divided at the time. While recognizing its great potential, there was a desire to conceal the rough concrete surface and the traces of the casting boards. The scale model is a good example of this. After casting, the bridge was covered with a thin shell of cut stone. Influenced by functionalism, these aesthetic measures ceased by the end of the 1920s.

Even in 1940, arch bridges in concrete were still being constructed, but already in the 1910s, the design was further developed and the material reduced. The bridge deck, where trains run, and the arch below are no longer integrated into a solid unit, but instead, the construction consists of several supporting pillars between them. Aside from saving on material, the lower weight enabled longer spans.

In the 1930s, composite bridges began to be built in Sweden. Steel and reinforced concrete work together in this type of construction, but as separate components. A modern example of such a bridge is parts of the Öresund Bridge. Here, the bridge piers and the bridge deck are cast in reinforced concrete, while what sits between them and bears the structure are steel truss girders.