Littoral Viaduct, Road bridge in Saint-Denis, France.
The Littoral Viaduct is a concrete road bridge spanning 5.4 kilometers along Reunion Island's coast. The structure stands approximately 30 meters above sea level and is supported by 48 marine piers.
The coastal road opened in 1963 and carried over 70,000 vehicles a day, but rockfalls from the unstable cliff above caused 22 deaths and 23 hospitalisations. After a 2006 collapse of more than 20,000 m³ of rock killed two people and closed the road for 36 days, the Nouvelle route du Littoral was accelerated. The viaduct's civil engineering was completed on 30 April 2019, it was inaugurated on 30 March 2021 and entered service in stages from 28 August 2022.
The viaduct carries the RN1 between Le Barachois and La Grande Chaloupe, two neighbourhoods of Saint-Denis, not a link to La Possession. It is the central structure of the Nouvelle route du Littoral, built to move traffic off the cliffside road. Its name comes from the coastal route it replaces.
Most of the bridge's components were manufactured on land before being transported for installation at sea. A specialized vessel named Zourite was used to position the components in the water.
The construction required specialized maritime techniques adapted for a tropical region with powerful ocean swells. Engineers developed innovative solutions to protect the structure from the intense forces of the surrounding waters.
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