Pont Pierre-Corneille, Steel bridge in Rouen, France.
Pont Pierre-Corneille is a road bridge over the Seine in Rouen, resting on île Lacroix between the right and left banks. It has two carriageways and two pavements, and its deck is carried by a light green steel arch structure on dark stone piers. The guardrail was designed by Raymond Subes.
A first stone bridge was built from 1813 to 1829 after Napoleon I promised it during his 1810 visit; Empress Marie-Louise visited the works in their first year, and the île Lacroix quarter grew from the bridge's establishment. It carried several names, including pont Circonflexe, pont d'Angoulême and pont d'Orléans, before becoming pont Corneille in 1848. French engineers destroyed it on 9 June 1940 as German troops entered the city. The rebuilt bridge was inaugurated on 19 July 1952 by minister André Morice, prefect Jean Mairey and mayor Jacques Chastellain.
The bridge is named after Pierre Corneille, the playwright born in Rouen in 1606. At the tip of île Lacroix, a bronze statue of Corneille by Pierre-Jean David d'Angers was installed in 1834, after plans for a lighthouse, the Louqsor obelisk and a commemorative column were dropped. The statue now stands in front of the Théâtre des Arts.
The bridge functions as part of departmental road 840, carrying traffic between Rouen and Verneuil-sur-Avre for through-traffic users. Pedestrians can use the dedicated paths that allow safe crossing while taking in views of the Seine River.
At the tip of île Lacroix, mid-bridge, a platform was planned for a 15-metre lighthouse, then for the Louqsor obelisk, then for a column marking the capture of Trocadéro; in 1834 a bronze statue of Corneille by Pierre-Jean David d'Angers was placed there instead. The statue now stands in front of the Théâtre des Arts.
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