Pont Willy-Brandt, Modern bridge in Nantes, France

Pont Willy-Brandt is a pre-stressed concrete bridge over the Madeleine arm of the Loire in Nantes, designed by architect Charles Lavigne. It links the Malakoff - Saint-Donatien district, near the SNCF station and Marcel-Saupin stadium, to the Île de Nantes. Three spans are formed by voussoirs built out by corbelling, and the flat deck carries a road with metal railings on both edges.

Studies for the bridge began in July 1991, and it entered service in February 1994, built together with the Pont des Trois-Continents for 275 million francs excluding tax. It was inaugurated on 3 February 1995 and named after Herbert Karl Frahm, the German chancellor from 1969 to 1974 and 1971 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who took the name Willy Brandt during his exile in Norway in the Second World War.

The name honours Herbert Karl Frahm, who took the name Willy Brandt while exiled in Norway during the Second World War. He later served as chancellor of West Germany from 1969 to 1974 and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971.

The deck carries a road with a metal railing along both edges, so pedestrians cross beside vehicle traffic rather than on a separate footbridge. The span runs between the Malakoff - Saint-Donatien bank, near the SNCF station and Marcel-Saupin stadium, and the Île de Nantes, where the sports hall and shopping centre stand.

The bridge was built using precast concrete segments that were assembled on site rather than poured as a single structure. This method allowed for faster construction and greater precision in the engineering.