Rochefort-Martrou Transporter Bridge
45.916111111111 - 0.96069444444444Koordinaten: 45 ° 54 ' 58 "N, 0 ° 57' 38.5 " W
F1
Charente
The Transporter Bridge Rochefort (French: Pont de Rochefort transbordeur or de Pont à transbordeur Martrou ) went into operation in 1900 and is the work of the French engineer Ferdinand Arnodin. Since 1976, the building is recognized as a monument historique.
Description
This Transporter Bridge is an engineering structure which connects the two banks of the Charente between Rochefort and Échillais interconnects without the ship traffic to the naval arsenal and harbor of Rochefort to hinder. She is the last of its kind in France.
On each side of the Charente each two steel pylons are of height 68 m. A 175 m long bridge girders connecting the pillars height of 50 m above the high water level. A suspended bridge support of this gondola will allow passengers from one bank to move to the other.
History
Work on the transporter bridge with the aim of replacing inadequate for the growing traffic ferry, started in 1898 under the direction of Ferdinand Arnodin. The bridge was inaugurated after 27 months on 29 July 1900. They had cost 586 500 francs after that time prices and could carry 200 people or 9 two-horse wagons and 50 people at each crossing. Your carrying capacity was 14 tons. The crossing took, including the necessary time to ride on the ferry and to leave again, four minutes.
Between 1933 and 1934 extensive renovation measures were necessary because it was discovered on some components approaches of fractures. The maximum load capacity of the gondola was increased to 16 tons.
In the postwar period further reinforcements were made. Since the waiting times now due to the increasing traffic grew longer was built 250 meters downstream 1967, a lift bridge.
In 1975, funds in the amount of 1.4 million francs were provided for the demolition of the Transporter Bridge. But on 30 April 1976 she was awarded the status of a monument historique and so escaped destruction.
From 1990 to 1994 the bridge for 7 million francs was refurbished. Simultaneously, the lift bridge was replaced with twice two lanes because of the continued growth in road traffic through a toll fixed road bridge made of prestressed concrete ( Viaduc de Martrou, inaugurated in 1991 ). Then the lift bridge was demolished; only the foundations of the piers and the southern access road remained.
Today, the Transporter Bridge Rochefort is mainly for tourism. There are transported (eg bicycles) pedestrians and vehicles not subject to approval.
Others
The Transporter Bridge served in 1967 as the backdrop for the opening scene of the film The Young Girls of Rochefort by Jacques Demy starring Catherine Deneuve and her sister Françoise Dorléac in which the gondola to the stage for a choreography was.