Viaduc d'Austerlitz ( en, Austerlitz Viaduct) is a single-deck, steel

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

that crosses the

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

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 ...

. Its usage is solely dedicated to Line 5 of the

Paris Métro The Paris Métro (french: Métro de Paris ; short for Métropolitain ) is a rapid transit system in the Paris metropolitan area, France. A symbol of the Paris, city, it is known for its density within the capital's territorial limits, uniform ar ...

. It links

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 ...

on the

Rive Gauche The Rive Gauche (, ''Left Bank'') is the southern bank of the river Seine in Paris. Here the river flows roughly westward, cutting the city in two parts. When facing downstream, the southern bank is to the left, and the northern bank (or ''Rive D ...

to Quai de la Rapée on the other side of the river.

History

Due to restrictions posed by navigational traffic, it was implausible to place a

pier image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century. A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...

in the middle of the river. Therefore, in 1903, engineer Louis Biette, with the help of

Fulgence Bienvenüe Fulgence Bienvenüe (; 27 January 1852 – 3 August 1936) was a noted French civil engineer, best known for his role in the construction of the Paris Métro, and has been called "Le Père du Métro" (Father of the Metro). A native of Uzel in B ...

, conceptualized a metallic bridge that crossed the river in a single span. It was designed by the architect

Jean-Camille Formigé Jean-Camille Formigé (1845-1926) was a French architect during the French Third Republic.Pont de Bir-Hakeim The Pont de Bir-Hakeim (English: Bridge of Bir-Hakeim), formerly the Pont de Passy (Bridge of Passy), is a bridge that crosses the Seine in Paris. It connects the 15th and 16th arrondissement, passing through the Île aux Cygnes. The bridge, made ...

, the greenhouses of Auteuil, and the park below the Basilica of Sacré-Coeur, and restored the Roman amphitheater in

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

and the Roman theater in

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

. Formigé decorated the steel arcs with marine-themed

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

s, including

dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (t ...

seashells A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer usually created by an animal or organism that lives in the sea. The shell is part of the body of the animal. Empty seashells are often found washe ...

and

seaweeds Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...

. Parts of the steel footings are etched with figures of the Parisian

Coat of Arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

, which symbolizes steadfastness. Tasked with the bridge construction, the

Levallois-Perret Levallois-Perret () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies some from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of the French capital. It is the most densely populated ...

construction firm (Societé de Construction de Levallois-Perret) proposed a bridge with a span reaching , which was a record out of all the Parisian bridges at the time. Nowadays, this is only surpassed by Pont Charles-de-Gaulle. The

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...

consists of two reversed

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 ...

parabolic arcs joined together at three locations—two near the river banks and one exactly on the top of the arcs—and a single suspended deck about 8.5 m in width and hovering 11 m above water. As the deck is too close to the water, the arcs had to be elevated above the deck and affixed at each end to a giant

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...

, 22 m x 18 m in dimension. The approach to the bridge from the

left bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrai ...

(Gare d'Austerlitz) posed no particular issue to the construction project but it wasn't practical to remove the existing structures on the

right bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrai ...

to clear way for the bridge exit. Therefore, to circumvent this problem, instead of a straight exit leading out from the main bridge (like the one on the left bank), a curved structure was erected 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 ...

girders 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 ...

parallel to the rails. The

helicoid The helicoid, also known as helical surface, after the plane and the catenoid, is the third minimal surface to be known. Description It was described by Euler in 1774 and by Jean Baptiste Meusnier in 1776. Its name derives from its similarit ...

ramp, which has a radius of approximately 75 m and a 40‰ gradient, bends in until the rails point downstream. The rails then disappear beneath ''la Place Mazas'' and re-emerge at the other end. The construction of the viaduct began in 1903 and was completed by the following year. In 1936, the bridge body was consolidated to allow it to carry more load.

Access

Bibliography

* * Cohen, J., ''Above Paris - The Aerial Survey of Roger Henrard'' (Dominique Carré éditeur, 2006 & Paris-Musées, 2006)

Notes and Citations

External links

Technical Specifications
*
Bridge history

Gallery
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Austerlitz Bridges over the River Seine in Paris Through arch bridges in France Bridges completed in 1904

History

Access

See also

Bibliography

Notes and Citations

External links