Pont de Saint-Pierre-du-Vauvray, Reinforced concrete bridge in Saint-Pierre-du-Vauvray, France.
Pont de Saint-Pierre-du-Vauvray is a reinforced concrete road bridge over the Seine, linking the left bank to the Île du Bac. Its two hollow-box concrete arches, each with a 131.80 m span and a 25 m rise, are fixed in abutments largely buried in the ground. Thin concrete-clad hangers carry prefabricated cross-beams that support the deck, which has two lanes and two narrow footways.
A cast-iron bridge with three arches, inaugurated on 29 October 1861, preceded the present structure; it was damaged by a night convoy of barges during a Seine flood on 7 February 1913. Eugène Freyssinet's reinforced concrete bridge, with a 131 m span, opened on 14 October 1923. French engineers blew up the deck on 9 June 1940 around 3 p.m.; it was rebuilt identically in 1946 and inscribed as a monument historique on 15 January 1975.
The bridge carries the D313 between Les Andelys and Louviers, linking the Île du Bac to the left bank of the Seine. River traffic must pass beneath this span, because the other bridge, from Andé and its mill on a narrow arm to the Île du Bac, is not used for navigation. The name comes from the commune of Saint-Pierre-du-Vauvray in the Eure.
The bridge carries the D313 between Les Andelys and Louviers, with two vehicle lanes and two narrow pavements; the speed limit is 90 km/h. It crosses only the left main arm of the Seine to the Île du Bac, and a second bridge continues from the island to the right bank. River traffic must pass beneath this span, not the other one.
Engineer Eugène Freyssinet designed this bridge using innovative techniques that later became standard for concrete structures worldwide. His construction methods at this site influenced how similar spans were built in later decades.
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