Nouveau pont de Gien, Concrete bridge in Gien, France

The Nouveau pont de Gien is a 490.90 m beam bridge over the Loire, carrying the D940 between Gien and Saint-Martin-sur-Ocre. Its deck rests on seven spans: six prestressed-concrete spans and a 15.50 m reinforced-concrete span on the south bank. The deck is 11.75 m wide, with two 3.50 m lanes and emergency strips of 1.50 m downstream and 2.25 m upstream. The concrete piers have diamond-shaped bases and rectangular heads.

Construction started in 1977 and the bridge opened to traffic in 1980, fulfilling the need for improved transport links across the Loire. The project addressed long-standing connectivity challenges between these two communities.

The bridge carries the D940 and is one of three Loire crossings at Gien, with the old bridge and the railway viaduct downstream. Its deck has no sidewalks: road exits are held by BN 4 safety barriers, and the roadway is marked at night by low two-sided luminous bollards set every 15 m.

The deck carries the D940 with two 3.50 m lanes and emergency strips of 1.50 m downstream and 2.25 m upstream. There are no sidewalks: crossing on foot is not possible, and safety barriers of the BN 4 type line the edges. Lighting comes from low luminous bollards spaced 15 m apart.

The deck was built by successive cantilevers: crews cast a pair of 3.90 m segments per week, plus a 3 m closing segment per pier. The concrete is grooved on the webs and cornices, and low luminous bollards every 15 m mark the roadway, which has no sidewalks.