History through bridges 5 bridges over 60 km

Pont Blois Cordage Thierry BourgoinPont Blois Cordage Thierry Bourgoin
©Pont Blois Cordage Thierry Bourgoin|Thierry Bourgoin

Read history through bridges. It’s possible in Blois-Chambord. From 1717 to 2024, 5 bridges in very different styles punctuate the 60km of the river, from Muides-sur-Loire, through Blois and downstream to Chaumont-sur-Loire. Let’s take a chronological tour of these structures.

Crossing Blois 1717

The town of Blois has always been an important North/South crossing point. The first wooden bridges were built to facilitate maneuvering, as boats were no longer sufficient. The foundations are often visible in summer, when the Loire is at its lowest, near the stone bridge downstream.

But the vagaries of the weather often get the better of the wooden structures, which are now used to house more and more buildings (see drawing). The passage of boats is also often an accomplice to violent shocks, already caused by ice breakup at the end of winter.

As the bridge was being washed away in 1715, the fledgling Ponts et Chaussées department was asked to design a stone bridge. Jacques Gabriel from Blois, the department’s first engineer, set to work. The 283-metre structure became the benchmark for other towns, with its sloping profile, arches and 14-metre pyramid (also known as an obelisk) in the middle of the Loire. The sculptures, visible only by boat, represent the Atlantic on one side and the source of the Massif Central on the other.

The bridge’s design was followed by the development of the busy ports and quays.

The bridge withstood many an invader. It paid the heaviest price during the Second World War, losing several of its arches. Today, it is said to be the strongest bridge among its more modern counterparts!

The bridge at Muides-sur-Loire 1932

At Muides-sur-Loire, the first bridge was built in 1843, using iron cables supported by brick and stone piers. It replaced the laborious crossing by boat and rope, especially in winter. Access was subject to a toll for 40 years, and vehicle weight was limited to 4 tons.

To cope with the influx of traffic from Beauce to Sologne, a new structure was inaugurated in 1932, using the modern material of reinforced concrete. Since then, the 330-meter-long structure with its 6 arches has withstood the storms of the Loire and the seasons, thanks to regular maintenance work.

The Chaumont-sur-Loire Bridge 1970

At the end of the 60s, the explosion in automobile traffic revived bridge construction. In Blois, the Jacques Gabriel bridge alone was no longer sufficient. Its location in the heart of the city made it difficult to transport goods by truck, which was growing with the emergence of supermarkets.

In Chaumont-sur-Loire, the issue is different, as the newly renovated bridge was shelled in 1940 by the French army. Since then, a temporary footbridge has been installed, and it was time to start work on the metal bridge on concrete pillars.

The two structures were inaugurated in the same year, 1970. The blésois bridge was christened Charles de Gaulle.

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