Pont Gallieni, Transportation bridge in central Lyon, France

Pont Gallieni is a combined tram and road bridge that crosses the Rhone River in Lyon. It carries tram lines T1 and T2 alongside cars, linking the Perrache district to the 7th arrondissement.

A first bridge on the site, built by the Seguin company, was finished in 1847 and opened to the public in 1849; it was a suspension bridge with two pyramidal piers and a 60.40 m central span, known successively as Pont Napoléon, Pont Séguin, Pont du Rhône and Pont du Midi. Rebuilt by engineers Claude Clavenad and Ernest Fabrègue with decoration by Louis-Charles Boileau, the new three-arch metal bridge opened on 13 July 1891. Damaged in 1944, it was demolished in 1962 and replaced by the current steel bridge, inaugurated on 30 October 1965.

The bridge is named after Joseph Simon Gallieni, a general, Marshal of France and colonial administrator born in 1849 at Saint-Béat and died in 1916 at Versailles; the municipal council gave him this honour by deliberation on 17 July 1916. Before that, the crossing had carried several names: Pont Napoléon, then Pont Séguin in 1849, Pont du Rhône in 1852 and Pont du Midi around 1871.

Sidewalks run along both sides of the bridge for pedestrians to cross safely. Traffic can be heavy during peak hours, so plan your walk accordingly if you want a quieter crossing.

The 1965 bridge is the fourth structure on this crossing. Its predecessor, inaugurated on 13 July 1891, had three metal arches, measured 209 m long and 20 m wide, and was designed by engineers Claude Clavenad and Ernest Fabrègue, with decoration by Louis-Charles Boileau. German troops dynamited its left-bank arch in September 1944.