Gignac Bridge (

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

: ''Pont de Gignac'') carries the N109 road over the river

Hérault Hérault (; , ) is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault (river), Hérault River, its Prefectures in France, prefecture is M ...

, 1 km west of the town of Gignac in the

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is described by a plaque on the side as "''Judged the most beautiful bridge of the 18th century''", a view shared by the

Michelin Green Guide The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few restaurants in certain geographic ...

which describes it as ''"considered to be the finest 18C bridge in France because of its daring design and the beauty of its architectural lines."'' Gignac Bridge has been protected since 1950 as a ''

monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...

. The bridge has three arches and is constructed from dressed limestone. Its dimensions are: length 174.76 m; height 20.64 m; width 9.80 m (respectively, approximately 573, 68 and 32 feet.) The side arches span 25.97 m each and the central arch spans 50.72 m. Construction began in 1776 to plans drawn up by the engineer Bertrand Garipuy, then Director of Public Works in the

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

province. He was succeeded by his nephew, Ducros, in 1782. The foundations and the side arches were in place by 1784. Delayed by the French Revolution, the bridge was finally completed by chief engineers Billoin and Fontenay in 1810. The building of the A750 motorway, and the opening on 11 June 2008 of the Languedoc Bridge,"A750 - A75/Juvignac - Pont du Languedoc"
DRE Languedoc-Roussillon website, accessed 16 July 2008 a few hundred metres downstream, has removed much of the traffic which previously used the Gignac Bridge.

References

External links

Article on the Gignac website
{{coord, 43, 39, 13, N, 3, 32, 8, E, type:landmark_region:FR, display=title Bridges in France Bridges completed in 1810 Stone bridges in France Buildings and structures in Hérault Transport in Occitania (administrative region) Tourist attractions in Hérault Stone arch bridges

See also

References

External links