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The Pont Saint-Louis
- The Pont Saint-Louis
- (Photo : ENPC)
The Pont Saint-Louis links the Southern tip of Ile Saint-Louis to Ile de la Cité. An first wooden footbridge, dating from 1627, was washed away by the Seine in spate. It was replaced in 1709 by a wooden bridge which was painted red and therefore known as the Pont Rouge. This was rebuilt first in 1801 and then twice more to be definitively replaced by a single arch cast iron bridge in 1861. The river narrows at this point causing considerable turbulence that has been responsible for a large number of barge accidents.
This bridge collapsed in 1939 after an impact from a barge. The temporary footbridge that was built in 1941 was not replaced by a seventh bridge between the two islands until 1970. This bridge consists of a single 67m span and is 16m wide. Its deliberately restrained design prevents it from impinging on views of Notre-Dame Cathedral. This pedestrian bridge gets extremely crowded in the summer.
Designer: J.F.COSTE and LONG-DEPAQUIT.
Contractor: CFEM.
Construction date: 1969-1970.
Total length: 67 m.
Effective width: 16 m : carriageway 9m; two 3,50m footpaths
Constructional features:
Two box girders with a span of 67m and covered with a reinforced concrete slab. The Pont Saint-Louis is a skew bridge with an independent metal span formed by two 67m beams. This is the seventh bridge to be built between the Ile Saint-Louis and the Cité at this location.
