Pont Saint-Mihiel, Steel bridge in central Nantes, France
Pont Saint-Mihiel is a steel bridge with three spans over the Erdre, linking place Châteaubriand to place de la Bonde just before the river enters the Saint-Félix tunnel. Its green railings and curved green arches rest on two grey stone piers, each topped by a white segmental arch with a circular medallion. A small white toll house stands at one end.
A wooden footbridge installed in 1876 stood here until its condition was judged alarming for boat traffic and pedestrians in 1909. After M. Charrière won the 1911 competition with a three-span metal design, the stone-and-steel bridge was built in 1913 for Paul Bellamy's municipality by the Voruz foundry. It was renamed Pont Saint-Mihiel on 30 December 1918, honouring the Meuse town liberated that September and rebuilt with Nantes aid.
The bridge's name, adopted by the municipal council on 30 December 1918, honours the town of Saint-Mihiel in the Meuse, liberated on 12–13 September 1918; Nantes and Lyon helped fund its reconstruction. The bridge itself appears in a scene of Emmanuel Courcol's 2016 film Cessez-le-feu.
The bridge is now permanently closed to cars since June 2023, so it is crossed on foot or by bike. It links place Châteaubriand to place de la Bonde over the Erdre, just before the river enters the Saint-Félix tunnel. The Saint-Mihiel tram stop on line 2 is nearby.
The bridge was designed by M. Charrière, who won the 1911 competition with a "continuous metal bridge with three spans", and built in 1913 by the Voruz foundry, which fitted it with an original model of street lamp. It was first called pont de Barbin, after a nearby quay, before the council renamed it on 30 December 1918.
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