Passerelle de l'Homme de la Roche, Pedestrian bridge over the Saône in Lyon, France

Passerelle de l'Homme de la Roche is a pedestrian bridge over the Saône, its pinkish-red metal truss built of repeating triangles resting on a pale stone abutment on the left bank. It replaced a 1911-1912 three-arch cantilever road bridge by engineer Ernest Fabrègue, demolished in 1986; the temporary metal footbridge made by La Chaudronnerie Beaujolaise is still in place.

A cantilever bridge with three arches, designed by engineer Ernest Fabrègue, was built in 1911-1912 between the Quai Saint-Vincent and the Place de l'Homme de la Roche. After the 1913 passage of the "Guillotine" tramway, the quay collapsed and compressed the bridge into a slight zigzag, derailing its roller bearings; it was never repaired. On 2 September 1944 it was one of only two Saône bridges spared by German forces: Lieutenant Joseph Laval, of the Combat resistance group, loosened the detonating cords in the rain, helping the 1st Free French Division enter Lyon the next day. Demolished in 1986, it was replaced by a temporary metal footbridge that is still in place.

The provisional footbridge was made by La Chaudronnerie Beaujolaise in Régnié-Durette and brought down the Saône by barge from the port of Villefranche-sur-Saône. It links two dead ends, one at the foot of the Croix-Rousse hill and the other below Fourvière, which is why the planned permanent bridge was postponed.

The bridge is open to pedestrians and cyclists around the clock every day. Access is straightforward from either riverbank and the crossing takes just a few minutes.

The temporary footbridge was fabricated at the port of Villefranche-sur-Saône by La Chaudronnerie Beaujolaise of Régnié-Durette and brought to Lyon by barge. Because it links two dead ends, one below the Croix-Rousse hill and the other below Fourvière, the planned replacement was postponed and this crossing has stayed in place since 1986.