Pont Charles-de-Gaulle
Encyclopedia
The Pont Charles-de-Gaulle (Charles-de-Gaulle Bridge) is a steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
-reinforced concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
girder bridge
Girder bridge
A girder bridge, in general, is a bridge built of girders placed on bridge abutments and foundation piers. In turn, a bridge deck is built on top of the girders in order to carry traffic. There are several different subtypes of girder bridges:...
straddling the river Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
in the eastern part of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. It is a one-way bridge carrying road traffic from the 13th arrondissement
XIIIe arrondissement
The 13th arrondissement of Paris is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France....
to the 12th arrondissement
XIIe arrondissement
The 12th arrondissement of Paris is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France....
. Further downstream, also a one-way bridge, Pont d'Austerlitz
Pont d'Austerlitz
The Pont d'Austerlitz is a bridge which crosses the Seine River in Paris, France.-Location:The bridge links the 12th arrondissement at the rue Ledru-Rollin, to the 5th and 13th arrondissements, at the Jardin des Plantes.- History :...
carries traffic travelling in the opposite direction.
History
In 1986, the Council of ParisCouncil of Paris
The Council of Paris is the deliberative body responsible for the governing of Paris, the capital of France. It possesses simultaneously the powers of a Paris City Council and those of a General Council for the Département de Paris, as defined by the so-called PLM Law of 1982 that redefined the...
(Conseil de Paris) decided to construct a new bridge between the Pont de Bercy
Pont de Bercy
The Pont de Bercy is a bridge over the Seine in Paris, France.The structure links the 12th and 13th arrondissements of Paris by extending the Boulevard de Bercy and the Boulevard Vincent-Auriol...
and the Pont d'Austerlitz
Pont d'Austerlitz
The Pont d'Austerlitz is a bridge which crosses the Seine River in Paris, France.-Location:The bridge links the 12th arrondissement at the rue Ledru-Rollin, to the 5th and 13th arrondissements, at the Jardin des Plantes.- History :...
in southeast Paris, to imitate the design of the Pont d'Austerlitz
Pont d'Austerlitz
The Pont d'Austerlitz is a bridge which crosses the Seine River in Paris, France.-Location:The bridge links the 12th arrondissement at the rue Ledru-Rollin, to the 5th and 13th arrondissements, at the Jardin des Plantes.- History :...
. 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
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
(also known as the François Mitterrand Library
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
) to the district of Bercy
Bercy
Bercy is a neighborhood in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. It is the city's 47th administrative neighborhood. -History:Some of the oldest vestiges of human occupation in Paris were found on the territory of Bercy, dating from the late Neolithic . The name of Bercy, or Bercix, appeared for the...
on the Right Bank
Rive Droite
La Rive Droite is most associated with the river Seine in central Paris. Here the river flows roughly westwards, cutting the city into two: looking downstream, the northern bank is to the right, and the southern bank is to the left....
of the Seine; and (3) to establish a direct link between the Gare de Lyon
Paris-Gare de Lyon
Paris Lyon is one of the six large railway termini in Paris, France. It is the northern terminus of the Paris–Marseille railway. It is named after the city of Lyon, a stop for many long-distance trains departing here, most en route to the south of France. In general the station's SNCF services run...
and the Gare d'Austerlitz
Gare d'Austerlitz
Paris Austerlitz is one of the six large terminus railway stations in Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine in the southeastern part of the city, in the XIIIe arrondissement...
.
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 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
Viaduc d'Austerlitz is a single-deck, steel arch, rail bridge that crosses the Seine in Paris. Its usage is solely dedicated to the railroad traffic on Line 5 of the Parisian Metro Network...
, a structure further downstream, and that it discretely 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. 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) measures 18 m in width and allows 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.