The Pont de Bornègre is an ancient bridge

Roman bridge

Roman bridges, built by ancient Romans, were the first large and lasting bridges built. Roman bridges were built with stone and had the arch as its basic structure....

 of the Roman aqueduct

Roman aqueduct

The Romans constructed numerous aqueducts to serve any large city in their empire, as well as many small towns and industrial sites. The city of Rome had the largest concentration of aqueducts, with water being supplied by eleven aqueducts constructed over a period of about 500 years...

 to Nîmes

Nîmes

Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:...

, which also includes the famous Pont du Gard

Pont du Gard

The Pont du Gard is a notable ancient Roman aqueduct bridge that crosses the Gard River in southern France. It is part of a long aqueduct that runs between Uzès and Nîmes in the South of France. It is located in Vers-Pont-du-Gard near Remoulins, in the Gard département...

, between the communes of Saint-Maximin

Saint-Maximin, Gard

Saint-Maximin is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.-Population:-References:*...

, and Argilliers

Argilliers

Argilliers is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.-Population:...

. It is located at the upper reaches of the approximately 50 km long aqueduct, 6,745 m downstream of the Eure source and 9,061 m upstream of the Pont du Gard. The structure bridges an intermittent torrent, the Bordnègre, with a catchment area

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 of 0.6–0.8 km² and, according to modern estimates, a maximum flood flow of 5 m³/s water.

Its three segmental arches, with a total span of 17 m, are built of voussoir

Voussoir

A voussoir is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, used in building an arch or vault.Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The keystone is the center stone or masonry unit at the apex of an arch. A...

s covering the whole breadth of the bridge. Today, two of them are buried by sediments up to the springing line of the vaults

Vault (architecture)

A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...

. After the aqueduct fell into disrepair during the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

, the Bornègre Bridge, like its big sister across the Gard

Gardon

The Gardon or Gard is a river in southern France. It is the namesake of the Gard département. Several of its tributaries are also called Gardon....

, was used as a conventional bridge for foot traffic.

Sources

• Hubert Chanson: "Hydraulics of Large Culvert beneath Roman Aqueduct of Nîmes", Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, Vol. 128, No. 5 (Sept./Oct. 2002), pp. 326–330 (329)