Faidherbe Bridge
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Faidherbe Bridge (french: Pont Faidherbe) is a road bridge over the Senegal River which links the island of the city of Saint-Louis in
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
to the African mainland. The metal bridge is long and wide, weighing . It has eight spans, of which the longest five are . Until the 19th century, access to the island was made through boats. After the introduction of a ferry that could transport 150 passengers, Louis Faidherbe quickly saw that the system was clearly overrun and decided to construct the first bridge over the Sénégal River. The governor of
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
, Henri de Lamothe decided to take a loan worth five million gold francs to construct a new metallic bridge in Saint-Louis. After the construction company was selected, they all decided to construct a new metallic bridge with a section capable of turning 90 degrees to allow the passage of ships. The bridge was opened on July 14, 1897. In the 2000s, a US$27 million rehabilitation plan has been inaugurated.


The first bridge

The city of Saint-Louis, the first capital of the French West Africa, is situated on an island near the
estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...
of the Sénégal River. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a thin strip of sand called the
Langue de Barbarie The Langue de Barbarie ( French for " Barbary spit of land", named after the Barbary Coast) is a thin, sandy peninsula, adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, located in western Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫 ...
, which starts from
Nouadhibou Nouadhibou (; ar, نواذيبو, Nwādībū, Berber: Nwadibu, formerly in French: ) is the second largest city in Mauritania and serves as a major commercial centre. The city itself has about 118,000 inhabitants expanding to over 140,000 in the l ...
in Mauritania and extends all the way to Saint-Louis. The suburbs of Guet Ndar and Ndar-Tout are situated in this area. Until the 19th century, access to the island was by boat. Troops, horses and the equipment of the French colonial army all had to be transported by small boats. In 1858, Louis Faidherbe, the governor of Senegal, inaugurated the ''Bouteville'' boat that was capable of transporting 150 passengers, animals and all kinds of goods. The boat made ten crosses every day and the fares differed: five centimes for a person, 50 centimes for a
horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
,
cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
or camel, and two
francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...
for a carriage. In less than a year it was obvious that this system was overrun and a second boat was introduced but with no success. Seeing this, the frigate captain Robin, friend of Louis Faidherbe, asked Prince Jérôme Napoléon, Minister of Algeria and the African Colonies, for approval for construction of a floating bridge. Opened on July 2, 1865, the bridge had a total length of (the floating part of the bridge had a length of ) and a width of . The floating part was formed from 40 metal pontoons which supported a wooden deck. Three of these pontoons were specially designed so that it could be created a gap so that large vessels could pass. The bridge was named Faidherbe Bridge by a decree of
Napoleon III of France Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
. The opening in 1885 of the Saint-Louis
Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...
railway increased the traffic over the bridge. The railway reached all the way to Sor and all the goods hauled between the coast and the railway station had to cross over the bridge. To prevent the breakdown of the bridge a special decree was given so that the maximum weight for a vehicle that crosses the bridge to be less than one and a half tonnes. With all its difficulties the bridge remained in service 32 years, until 1897 when it was dismantled.


Construction of a new bridge

In the opening of his speech in the General Council of Senegal, governor proposed that the country should take a loan for infrastructure development. The council agreed on a loan worth five million gold francs, much of the money being for the construction of a metallic bridge between Saint-Louis and Sor. The loan was approved on November 2, 1892, by the French president
Marie François Sadi Carnot Marie François Sadi Carnot (; 11 August 1837 – 25 June 1894) was a French statesman, who served as the President of France from 1887 until his assassination in 1894. Early life Marie François Sadi Carnot was the son of the statesman Hippo ...
. A French bank, CDG, agreed to give the loan with a low
interest In finance and economics, interest is payment from a borrower or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distin ...
of only four percent. The
auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...
was organised by the Ministry of Colonies, which sent five officers to Senegal for evaluation. After examining each one these offers the Faidherbe Bridge Committee selected two of them, from Nouguier, Kessler et Cie, and from Société de Construction de Levallois-Perret (owned by
Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway ...
). The Faidherbe Bridge Committee and the technical committee in Paris agreed that the Société de Construction de Levallois-Perret project was the best for the site. On the other hand, the president of the public works in Senegal and
councilman A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
Jean-Jacques Crespin supported the Nouguier, Kessler et Cie project. In the end the contract was awarded to Nouguier, Kessler et Cie at a price of 1.88 million gold francs.


Link with King Carol I Bridge

There are many myths regarding the construction of the Faidherbe Bridge which are present even today and are depicted in some tourist guides. The construction of the bridge is attributed to Gustave Eiffel. In general it says that the metallic parts of the bridge represents a gift from the
French government The Government of France (French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who i ...
and that the parts were originally designed for the King Carol I Bridge over the
Danube River The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
in
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
. Other sources say that the metallic parts were intended for a bridge in
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
over the Danube River in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
or
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
. Finally another myth regarding the beams of the bridge says that the parts were intended for an unspecified site but the vessel transporting mysteriously sunk and the authorities in Senegal took advantage of this situation and built a local bridge. The information available in Romania for the King Carol I Bridge in Cernavodă, as well as the results of scientists in France, say that the myths are pure fiction. First of all the
Romanian government , image = , caption=Logo of the Government of Romania , date = 1862 , state = Romania , address = Victoria PalaceBucharest , appointed = President , leader_title = Prime Minister , mai ...
never finalised the construction contract with the company of Gustave Eiffel or with another foreign company, making the decision to build the bridge only with local companies. The Cernavodă Bridge was made entirely by Romanians, fulfilling the design of Anghel Saligny, which was also the supervisor of the site. In these conditions, not knowing if the contract will be approved, it is unlikely that a foreign company would build the whole superstructure of the bridge. On the other hand, in Austria-Hungary there was no need to construct a low bridge like the Faidherbe because of the trade routes on the Danube River.


Construction of the metallic bridge

The new bridge has a metal deck formed with
rivet A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched ...
ed
girder A girder () is a support beam used in construction. It is the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams. Girders often have an I-beam cross section composed of two load-bearing ''flanges'' separated by a stabilizing ...
s. The bridge has in total eight
span Span may refer to: Science, technology and engineering * Span (unit), the width of a human hand * Span (engineering), a section between two intermediate supports * Wingspan, the distance between the wingtips of a bird or aircraft * Sorbitan ester ...
s of which one span of , two spans of and five spans of . The total length of the bridge is and the width is . The total weight of the deck is . The second span from the city is mobile, being capable of turning 45 degrees to let small ships to cross.


Opening

A first opening of the bridge took place in the same day with the ceremonies for the national day on July 14, 1897, in the presence of governor Chabié. The ribbon for the access zone was cut by the governor's wife, then the officials walked a short distance to the mobile deck, which was opened to allow the passage of the military ship ''L'Ardent''. 21 cannon shots were fired at dusk and dawn to commemorate the construction of the bridge and on that day there were organised ceremonies including
horse races Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...
and donkey races. The second opening was on October 19, 1897, in the presence of André Lebon, the prime minister of the French colonies.


Modernisation and rehabilitation works

After more than 100 years since it was opened the bridge has suffered from
corrosion Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engi ...
and was in need of urgent repair. The rehabilitation works are co-financed by the
French Development Agency The French Development Agency (french: Agence française de développement, AFD) is a public financial institution that implements the policy defined by the French Government. It works to fight poverty and promote sustainable development. This pub ...
(AFD) and by the
Government of Senegal The Government of Senegal is the union government created by the constitution of Senegal, consisting of the executive, parliament, and judiciary. The Seat of the Government is located in Dakar. The government is led by the president (currently M ...
. The total cost of the works was estimated to be US$27 million, of which US$17 million is from AFD and US$10 million is from the government. The spans of the bridge were replaced between November 2008 and 23 July 2011. The total work is expected to finish in mid-August and inaugurated in October 2011.


References


External links

*
Bridge on AFD Website

Bridge on saintlouisdusenegal.com

Bridge on Ndarinfo.com
{{Good article Bridges in Senegal Bridges completed in 1865 Bridges completed in 1897 Saint-Louis, Senegal Tied arch bridges Metal bridges