Pont de Normandie

Pont de Normandie
Pont de Normandie
Carries	A29 autoroute
Crosses	Seine
Locale	Le Havre–Honfleur, France
Maintained by	Société des Autoroutes de Paris Normandie
Design	Cable-stayed bridge M. Virlogeux, F. Doyelle, C. Lavigne
Total length	2,143.21 metres (7,032 ft)
Width	23.60 metres (77 ft)
Height	214.77 metres (705 ft)
Longest span	856 metres (2,808 ft)
Opened	1995
Coordinates	49°26′09″N 0°16′28″E / 49.43583°N 0.27444°E / 49.43583; 0.27444

The Pont de Normandie is a cable-stayed road bridge that spans the river Seine linking Le Havre to Honfleur in Normandy, northern France. Its total length is 2,143.21 metres (7,032 ft) – 856 metres (2,808 ft) between the two piers.

Construction

The bridge was designed by Michel Virlogeux. The architects were François Doyelle and Charles Lavigne.^[1] Construction by Bouygues, Campenon Bernard, Dumez, Monberg & Thorsen now part of MT Hoejgaard, Quillery, Sogea and Spie Batignolles^[1] began in 1988 and lasted 7 years. The bridge opened on 20 January 1995.

At that time the bridge was both the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world, and had the record for the longest distance between piers for any cable-stayed bridge. It was more than 250 m longer between piers than the previous record. This record was lost in 1999 to the Tatara Bridge in Japan. Its record for length for a cable-stayed bridge was lost in 2004 to the 2883 meters of the Rio-Antirrio. At the end of construction, the bridge had cost $465 million and was financed by Natixis.

The cable-stayed design was chosen because it was both cheaper and more resistant to high winds than a suspension bridge.

Structure

The span, 23.6 metres (77 ft) wide, is divided into four lanes for traffic and two lanes for pedestrians. The pylons, made of concrete, are shaped as upside-down Ys. They weigh more than 20,000 tons and are 214.77 metres (705 ft) tall. More than 19,000 tons of steel and 184 cables were used.

Panoramic view of the 'Pont de Normandie'.

See also

• List of crossings of the River Seine

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Normandy Bridge at Structurae. Retrieved 30 September 2006.

External links

• Website of the company operating the bridge (French)