Pont de pierre (Bordeaux)

44°50′18.47″N 0°33′46.98″W

Pont de pierre (Bordeaux)
Pont de pierre
General information
LocationBordeaux, France
Construction started1819
Completed1822
OwnerBordeaux Métropole
Design and construction
Architect(s)Claude Deschamps
Structural engineerJean-Baptiste Basilide Billaudel
Main contractorCompagnie du pont de Bordeaux (since 1818)

The Pont de pierre, or "Stone Bridge" in English, is a bridge in Bordeaux, (in the Gironde department of France), which connects the left bank of the river Garonne (cours Victor Hugo) to the right bank quartier de la Bastide (Avenue Thiers).

It is 487 m (1,598 ft) in length and 19 m (62 ft) wide. It constitutes the legal frontier between the maritime domain and the river domain in the port of Bordeaux.[1]

Name and translation

"Stone bridge" is the usual translation of "Pont de pierre", however the real meaning of the french phrase "pont de pierre" is "masson bridge". As a matter of fact, the bridge is built mainly of brick and not stone.

Overview
Pont de pierre

First bridge over the river Garonne at Bordeaux, the Pont de pierre was planned and designed during the First French Empire, under the orders of Napoleon I. As he campaigned in Spain, he needed his troops cross rapidly the river, and the original project envisaged a wood bridge, easier to build. Until then, it was necessary to cross the river by boat. Due to lack of resources, the construction took place subsequently, during the Bourbon Restoration, from 1819 to 1822.[2] During these three years, the builders were faced with many challenges because of the strong current and the high tidal range, 6 m (20 ft), at that point in the river. They used a diving bell borrowed from the British to stabilise the bridge's pillars.

Tramway crossing the Pont de pierre

The bridge has 17 arches (according to the legend the number of letters in the name 'Napoléon Bonaparte'). On the sides, each pile of bricks is capped by a white medallion that were to receive the cipher of Louis XVIII of France, a double L.

It was the only bridge in Bordeaux until the completion of the railway bridge Passerelle Eiffel in 1860 and the only road bridge until the construction of pont Saint-Jean (Bordeaux) in 1965.

By night

The bridge and its tide is an important point in the Itinéraire à Grand Gabarit, the logistic schedule transporting parts for the Airbus A380 production.[3][4][5]

Since 2016, the condition of the bridge makes it now permanently closed to traffic except for pedestrians, cyclists, trams, buses, taxis and emergency vehicles.

Postage stamp

On 26 April 2004, a tourist stamp was issued for €0.50 in Bordeaux.[6] It shows the bridge and a train Pierre tramway de Bordeaux inaugurated on 21 December 2003. Contrary to what the stamp shows, the tram passes along the bridge and not on a second bridge alongside. The design is the work of Claude Andréotto, engraved by Claude Jumelet for printing intaglio. The stamp was withdrawn from sale on 12 November 2004.

See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pont de pierre.

References
  1. "Pont de pierre | Bordeaux Tourism & Conventions".
  2. Structurae [fr]: Pont de pierre (1822)
  3. "Towards Toulouse". Flight International. 20 May 2003. Retrieved 18 September 2006.
  4. "Convoi Exceptionnel". Airliner World. Key Publishing Limited. May 2009.
  5. Morales, Jesus. "The A380 Transport Project and Logistics – Assessment of alternatives" p45 Airbus, 18 January 2006. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  6. "Briefmarken". Archived from the original on 2012-02-09.
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