The Pont Charles-de-Gaulle (''Charles-de-Gaulle Bridge'') is a

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

-reinforced

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

girder bridge A girder bridge is a bridge that uses girders as the means of supporting its deck. The two most common types of modern steel girder bridges are plate and box. The term "girder" is often used interchangeably with "beam" in reference to bridge de ...

straddling the river

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

in the eastern part of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. It is a one-way bridge carrying road traffic from the 13th arrondissement to the 12th arrondissement. Another one-way bridge further downstream,

Pont d'Austerlitz The Pont d'Austerlitz is a bridge which crosses the Seine River in Paris, France. It owes its name to the battle of Austerlitz (1805). Location The bridge links the 12th arrondissement at the rue Ledru-Rollin, to the 5th and 13th arrondissements ...

, carries traffic in the opposite direction.

History

In 1986, the Council of Paris (''Conseil de Paris'') decided to construct a new bridge between the

Pont de Bercy The Pont de Bercy (English: Bridge of Bercy) is a bridge over the Seine in Paris. It links the 12th and 13th arrondissement of Paris by extending the Boulevard de Bercy and Boulevard Vincent-Auriol. In addition to the roadway, the bridge also car ...

and the

in southeast Paris, to imitate the design of the

. The aims of this project were three in number: (1) to ease the traffic on the Pont d'Austerlitz, the most heavily trafficked bridge in the capital; (2) to connect the new

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

(also known as the

François Mitterrand Library François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King o ...

) to the district of Bercy on the Right Bank of the Seine; and (3) to establish a direct link between the

Gare de Lyon The Gare de Lyon, officially Paris-Gare-de-Lyon, is one of the six large mainline railway stations in Paris, France. It handles about 148.1 million passengers annually according to the estimates of the SNCF in 2018, with SNCF railways and RER D ...

and the

Gare d'Austerlitz The Gare d'Austerlitz (English: Austerlitz Station), officially Paris-Austerlitz, is one of the six large Paris rail termini. The station is located on the left bank of the Seine in the southeastern part of the city, in the 13th arrondissemen ...

. A Europe-wide competition was held in 1987 to determine the best project design. At the conclusion of the competition, the concept set forth by

Louis Arretche Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS Louis, HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also

Derived or associated te ...

and Roman Karasinski was chosen for the bridge. The rationale for this choice was that it did not detract from the aesthetic exterior of the

Viaduc d'Austerlitz Viaduc d'Austerlitz ( en, Austerlitz Viaduct) is a single-deck, steel arch, rail bridge that crosses the Seine in Paris. Its usage is solely dedicated to Line 5 of the Paris Métro. It links Gare d'Austerlitz on the Rive Gauche to Quai de la Ra ...

, a structure further downstream, and that it discreetly preserved the existing view of the river.

Bridge structure

The bridge has a single steel deck measuring 270 m long and 35 m wide, and the shape of which resembles an aircraft wing. It is supported by two concrete

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

. Linking each pier to the deck are two conical steel frames shaped like upside-down tents. The bridge roadway (not including footpaths and cycle lanes) is 18 m wide and carries four lanes of northeast-bound traffic from the Left Bank to the Right Bank. Two cycle lanes to the upstream side of the bridge and two footpaths, one on each side of it, permit unmotorized traffic to cross.

Access

External links

{{Commonscat
More bridge history

Technical Specifications
Bridges over the River Seine in Paris Bridges completed in 1996