Crosses Garonne River Official name Pont de Pierre Material stone Total length 220 m Location Toulouse | Locale Toulouse Design arch bridge Construction started 1543 Opened 1632 Engineer Pierre Souffron | |
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Longest span approximately 30 metres (98 ft) Architects Nicolas Bachelier, Jacques Lemercier Similar Church of the Jacobins, Garonne, Musée des Augustins, Basilica of Saint‑Sernin - Toulouse, Cité de l'espace | ||
The Pont Neuf, French for "New Bridge" (a.k.a. Pont de Pierre and Grand Pont), is a 16th-century bridge in Toulouse, in the South of France.
Construction
Original planning for the bridge started in 1542 by the assembly of a committee of master masons and carpenters. Construction started on the foundations in 1544; the first arch was started in 1614. The bridge was finished in 1632, and was inaugurated on 19 October 1659.
The bridge is not symmetrical; the longest arch is the third from the right-hand bank. The openings through the piers were originally supposed to represent the face and mane of a lion. A triumphal archway added in 1686 constricted traffic and was removed in 1860.
It is 220m long, and has 7 arches.
References
Pont Neuf, Toulouse Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA