Because of its geography, the city of Sète, which sits between the Mediterranean Sea and the saltwater lagoon or bassin of the Etang de Thau in Hérault, Occitanie, has to juggle two different types of traffic -- vehicular and marine. To ensure easy transfer from one canal to another, several bridges lift up to let boats pass at set times during the day.
Ponts Sadi-Carnot (road), left, and Foch (railway), right, in their raised positions.
If you live in Sète you have to learn to live with the eleven bridges, five of which lift up or pivot to allow boats through. When a bridge is raised road and rail traffic is halted for a few minutes. Boat captains can also request that a bridge is lifted at a certain time, which they can now only do by booking online or going to the port office in person. Until last year you could book a bridge raising by telephone, but that service no longer operates.
Pont Sadi-Carnot.
The Pont Sadi-Carnot, which we had to wait to cross, is new. The old bridge had to be dismantled and replaced in 2019 with a new bridge which came from Italy. The bridge carries a lot of heavy transport vehicles and in total more than 20 000 vehicles per day. It is at a point where all maritime traffic is obliged to transit too.
Pont Foch.
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