This weekend Bordeaux enters the record books with the opening
of the largest lift bridge in Europe, the
Pont Chaban-Delmas (visible on the left above, along with the
Pont de Pierre and the
Passerelle Eiffel, center and right). Fireworks, concerts and a parade are
just a few of the activities planned to celebrate the city's newest river crossing. Named for Jacques Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux's mayor from 1947 until 1995 (yes, that's right, nearly
50 years in office! The football stadium is also named for him, but it's going to be torn down soon, which explains why they decided to name the bridge after him) the structure is 1,400 feet long, has four lanes for cars and buses and two lanes for pedestrians and bicycles. Two pairs of slender pylons contain the enormous pulleys and cables that lift the center deck 320 feet in the air, high enough to allow even large cruise ships to enter the port.
 |
| Aerial view of Pont Chaban-Delmas |
This New Years Day, when construction was nearly finished, the
span was opened to pedestrians for a few hours in the early afternoon. Bruce and I joined 40,000 of
our neighbors in a stroll from one side of the river to the other that had all the joyful exuberance of a carnival. Entire families made the short trek, laughed, drank champagne and posed for pictures. We even came home with blue ribbons that proclaimed, "I CROSSED THE BRIDGE 1/1/2013."
 |
| Le Pont Chaban-Delmas on New Year's Day 2013 |
