Pont de Luzancy, Road bridge in Luzancy, France.
Pont de Luzancy carries Route D402 over the Marne between Luzancy and Méry-sur-Marne. Its 76-metre deck is 8 metres wide and rests on three parallel hollow concrete box girders, each 1.70 metres wide and assembled from 22 tubular precast segments. The girders sit on triangular bearings in front of the abutments, and the deck's depth tapers from 1.75 metres at the supports to 1.22 metres at mid-span.
A suspension bridge by Marc Seguin stood here from 1832, replaced in 1925 by a chain bridge designed by Paul Wahl. That bridge was destroyed in June 1940. Eugène Freyssinet's prestressed concrete replacement was begun in 1940, halted by the German occupation in July 1941, resumed in 1944 and tested on 2 May 1946.
The bridge represents a significant advancement in civil engineering as it was the first prestressed concrete bridge built in France.
The bridge is accessed via Route D402 and is open to vehicles and pedestrians for daily crossing. Best visited during daylight hours to observe its structural details from both approaches.
The central 39-metre segment of each box girder weighed 90 tonnes and was lifted into place by a cable system anchored to two 23.5-metre masts above the abutments. Freyssinet designed a special drum to reduce the effort needed to move the cables, a device that made the lift possible.
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