Bridges of Lyon France; Viaduc la Quarantaine across the Saone River

September 2016 (45.7506, 4.8211) Viaduc la Quarantaine

Continuing upstream along the Saone we soon arrive at the Viaduc la Quarantaine (also called the Pont Ferroviaire Kitchener). It's a rigid steel railroad structure consisting of one full arch span across the channel and half arches for the side spans. The main span is supported on big steel rocker bearings with smaller bearings supporting the half spans at the abutment seats (see photo below).

If I'm translating the French on the Lyon Bridge Blog correctly it seems the city felt the previous bridge was an eyesore and ordered this replacement structure, which was completed in 1932. Although most bridges had Art Deco details in the 1930s, this bridge seems to have been influenced by 'Orientalism' with curlicues supporting the deck overhang and with a pointed arch.

This bridge carries the French National Railway (SNCF) trains to and from the previously studied Mulatiere Railway Bridge and the Perrache Viaduct. I count at least four sets of tracks on the deck although it's hard to tell because there are so many switches on the bridge. At this location the Saone is a narrower river with shorter river crossings (maybe 450 ft). 

The Viaduc Quarantine has seven arch ribs. It was built by Allary Freres and Fives-Lille according to the Structurae Website. I couldn't find much on Allary Freres but Fives-Lille (renamed Fives-Lille Cail) has over 20 bridges they constructed listed on the Structure Website. 

The Viaduc Quarantaine is in good shape and its an attractive bridge. I'm not sure why it's called 'Quarantaine,' which means quarantine in English. Maybe this area was quarantined at some point?

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Bridges of Lyon, France: Place Natique Bridges

September 2016 (45.7417, 4.8183) Place Natique Bridges

North of the Mulatiere Bridges is the Place Natique (a small inlet on the left bank of the Saone) that is crossed by a couple of bridges. The little arch bridge above has two steel pipe arch ribs that come together at the supports. A little further upstream is a precast slab viaduct that carries light rail to and from the Pont Raymond Barre.

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Bridges of Lyon, France: The Mulatiere Bridges across the Saone River

September (45.7313, 4.8157) Mulatiere Bridges

The A7 (Autoroute du Soleil) Bridges and a parallel three span cantilevered steel truss (railroad) bridge cross the Saone just west of La Confluence (shown on the Google earth photo in last week's blog). These are called the Mulatiere Bridges, after a nearby town that was eventually absorbed into Lyon.

According to the Structurae Website, the railway bridge is part of the Saint Etienne-Lyon Railroad Line which is 557 km (346 miles) long. The bridge has an attractive fan-like arrangement of diagonal truss members as the truss deepens at its supports. The A7 Bridges are a steel truss arch carrying the southbound lanes (the middle bridge) and a steel I-girder bridge carrying the northbound lanes (the bridge on the left).

Originally the highway and railway were on a single structure but a separate railway bridge was built by Maurice Koechlin in 1914 (there's also a parallel railroad tunnel that was built in the 1820's). The railway bridge was damaged during WWII and repaired in 1946. It's 190m (626 ft) long and carries two sets of tracks. It must have been recently sandblasted and repainted because when I looked at the photos of it in Google earth (by trois tiff) it was completely covered in rust!

The north approach to the A7 bridges are reinforced concrete box girder spans on two column bents. It's a nice enough looking bridge but nothing spectacular. However, the Directorate of Transport Infrastructure (DGITM) is part of the Ministry of Ecology, so perhaps there efforts are focused on protecting the environment.

In the photo below we are looking back at the Pont Raymond Barre (across the Rhone) from under the north approach to the A7 Highway Bridges that goes across the Saone. 

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