Pont de Vieille-Brioude

The third and present bridge

Pont de Vieille-Brioude (Vieille-Brioude Bridge) is located in France, crossing the river Allier. It is a masonry arch bridge with a span of 45 metres (148 ft) that was built in 1832.[1]

The predecessor of this bridge on the same site was probably built in 1479 and had a span of 54 metres (177 ft), making it the longest existing arch span for some three hundred years.[2] The bridge was ordered by local resident Lady de Dombes and built by Grenier and Estone similar to how Pont Grand (Tournon-sur-Rhône) was later built.[3] The completion of the bridge was delayed for years because of some controversy. The bridge was too narrow,[4] and its approaches were too steep to be used by carts. It collapsed on March 27, 1822, at 6 am.

Before any stone bridge had been built on this site, there was a wooden bridge.

See also

Other very large medieval bridges

  • Puente del Diablo (Martorell) (37.3 m span)
  • Ponte della Maddalena (37.8 m span)
  • Puente de San Martín (Toledo) (40 m span)
  • Nyons Bridge (40.53 m span)
  • Pont du Diable (Céret) (45.45 m span)
  • Castelvecchio Bridge (48.70 m span)
  • Pont Grand (Tournon-sur-Rhône) (49.20 m span)
  • Trezzo sull'Adda Bridge (72 m span, but only fragments remain)

Notes

  1. ^ Structurae [en]: Vieille-Brioude Bridge (1832)
  2. ^ Structurae [en]: Vieille-Brioude Bridge ( 15th century )
  3. ^ Cresy, Edward (1847). An Encyclopædia of Civil Engineering, Historical, Theoretical and Practical. Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans. pp. 253. vieille brioude bridge.
  4. ^ Gostling, Frances Marion. Auvergne and Its People. Elibron Classics. p. 159. ISBN 1-4021-5315-5.

45°15′38″N 3°24′30″E / 45.26056°N 3.40833°E / 45.26056; 3.40833