New Bridge Over the Cher at Civray de Touraine

 

The piles in the Loire opposite the Chateau Royal d'Amboise that the old modular metal bridge at Civray de Touraine once rested on.

Right on time, the new bridge over the Cher at Civray de Touraine is finished and open to traffic. It took just shy of a year to rebuild and by chance, we were one of the first cars across.

The old metal bridge in the background, downstream from the needle weir, August 2017.

The new bridge is constructed of concrete and metal. The decking will be new but the old 19th century masonry piles will be retained. Having the bridge out of commission for a year was a bit inconvenient because the next nearest bridges in either direction add a good 10 kilometres to your journey. On the other hand, the old bridge was so clearly in a bad way that people were getting nervous about crossing it, and heavy vehicles had been forbidden to use it for the previous two years.

Approaching the new bridge on 4 January 2022.

The old metal bridge was constructed in 1955, so was 65 years old. It was aging and in a very bad state. The structure was weakened and all the metal was rusted.

Crossing the new bridge.

The work was necessary and undertaken for a cost of 3.2 million euros, part of a six year plan to reconstruct or renovate 13 bridges in Indre et Loire, after issues emerged following inspections triggered by the collapse of the bridge in Genoa in 2018. Over the six year period more than 12 million euros will be spent on these bridges. The local authorities also acknowledge that regular maintenance must be done to keep these bridges in working order and economical to maintain. It has also been a good opportunity to upgrade the bridges so they better serve current users. I know that pedestrians and cyclists in particular will be very happy to see the new bridge, as crossing the old one was not a comfortable experience. It is still a single vehicle lane though, with motored traffic being forced to alternate directions, controlled by lights at each end. The new pedestrian and cycle paths each side are 1.5 metres wide, considerably more generous than the old bridge. There are also new stairs to access the banks of the river and continue on your way along the walking and cycling track.

Approaching the old metal bridge in March 2019.

The original 19th century bridge had been partially destroyed in 1940 during the War, and in any case, was considered inadequate by then. After the War the metallic bridge was installed to improve the situation. But it wasn't a new bridge, it was moved from Amboise (where the piles in the Loire it used to rest on are clearly visible from the Chateau Royal ramparts). It was a modular structure of a type known as a pont Pigeaud, where metal beams are riveted into a trellis, with a deck made of independent reinforced concrete slabs.

Crossing the old metal bridge on 17 March 2019.