It is a construction site 23 million euros that the Loiret department just completed: rehabilitation of the Châtillon-sur-Loire bridge. This suspension bridge, which dates from 1951, showed signs of fragility in the cold, due to the poor quality of its steel. So much so that we could not exclude the hypothesis of a collapse, similar to what had happened in January 1985 for the Sully-sur-Loire bridge.
A major renovation, with the addition of a footbridge
“We had to take every precaution, precisely because there was the precedent of Sully-sur-Loire“, remember Marc Gaudet, the President of the Loiret Department: ban on heavy goods vehicle traffic since 2014, and closure of the bridge when the temperatures were negative. What complicates the life of the inhabitants of the sector, even if the traffic of the bridge of Châtillon-sur-Loire is relatively modest: 4,000 vehicles per day (i.e. 4 times less than the Sully bridge).
– Christophe Lorsch
At the same time, the Department has chosen a major renovation: full suspension replacement (cables, stirrups, hangers), reinforcement of the anchor blocks, the edge pylons and the metal framework of the deck. Added to this is an innovation: the construction of a bridge for pedestrians and bicyclesattached to the bridge, 2.50 meters wide.
Next rehabilitation: the Bonny-sur-Loire bridge
This is, of course, to promote gentle circulation, but not only: it will be a tourist asset, hopes Marc Gaudet. “This footbridge has an undeniable architectural quality, I am convinced that it will become a curiosity. This is already what we observe with the Sully-sur-Loire railway viaduct, which we have transformed into a cycle path, and which is a big success. There, in Châtillon-sur-Loire, this will reinforce the attractiveness of a sector where there is already the Mantelot lock.“It is also for this reason that the Centre-Val de Loire Region has granted a grant of 1.5 million euros for this project.
The project, which started in December 2018, is now complete. “It’s a real reliefsmiles Marc Gaudet, the bridge is reopened to traffic, and it is totally secure.“The circulation of heavy goods vehicles remains prohibited for transit, but authorized for local traffic (agricultural equipment, bus, local service). But the Department of Loiret is not done with bridge rehabilitations : signs of fragility have been detected for the bridge of Bonny sur Loirethe Bardin bridge at Amilly and the Fausse Rivière bridge in Trigueresdiagnoses or work are launched as appropriate.