Pont Neuf, Toulouse France, 2012

The oldest bridge across the Garonne River in Toulouse is called Pont Neuf, or “New Bridge”. In the 16th century there were 2 bridges crossing the Garonne River. One was a left over bridge from the Roman Times and the other was a covered bridge called the Bridge Daurade. The existing bridges required a great deal of maintenance and were prone to being washed out when the river flooded. The government officials in the area began to construct the new bridge in 1541. They were not able to raise enough money for the supplies, so progress was slow. King Francois became involved since he was interested in having a more reliable way of getting his army across the river to get to Spain. The King imposed a tax so that the funds were available to build the bridge.

Building was problematic; during the construction of each pier, the river would flood and wash out the scaffolding. The work also required special architectural planning. The piers were anchored deep in the riverbed on blocks of granite and built with special edges on the upstream side to break the waves. Each arch had a degueuloir which is a circular opening formed in the masonry of the bridge tympanum to allow water to flow through and reduce the hydraulic load on the structure.

Work on the bridge was interrupted in 1560 by the Wars of Religion and slowed due to disappearance of construction materials. Stone is not readily available in Toulouse, so most buildings were constructed of brick. Stone was brought in from quarries further south for parts of the bridge. Frequently, the stones would disappear from the construction site and end up in the walls of mansions around town. Using stone in the construction of your home an obvious display of wealth, or possibly that you had removed stone from the construction site. Finally, the bridge is completed in 1632 and officially dedicated in person by King Louis XIV in 1659. The true test of the bridge comes in June 1875 when there is major flooding on the Garonne. The bridge made it through that flood all subsequent floods.

 Today, the bridge is one of the main arteries for traffic. There are four lanes for cars and buses, 2 way lanes on each side for bicycles and pedestrians. Parks line the river of both sides and are heavily used. The right bank is where the old city sits; here there are several access points to the river, and an area for tourist boats to take off. People congregate on the grass for picnics, impromptu music sessions, games of bocce and salsa dancing. Flood walls along the banks of the river are used for special art displays. Currently an exhibit is hanging with pictures of struggles of people in war torn areas of the world.  

The bridge itself is a work of art, and sometimes is used as part of current works of art. Fetes are frequent in Toulouse, and the Pont Neuf is frequently featured as a part of the work of art. Every night the bridge is lite up with colorful fluorescent lights that change colors. It may have taken almost 100 years to build, but it has lasted almost 400 years.