Pont de l'Alma

Infobox_Bridge
bridge_name=Pont de l'Alma

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caption=Pont de l'Alma, illuminated at night
official_name=Pont de l'Alma
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crosses=Seine
locale=Paris, France
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design= Arch Bridge
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length= 153 m (502 ft)
width= 42 m (138 ft)
height=
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open=
closed=
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coordinates= coord|48|51|51|N|02|18|06|E
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Pont de l'Alma ("Alma Bridge" in English) is an arch bridge in Paris, crossing the Seine. It was named to commemorate the Battle of Alma during the Crimean War, in which the Franco-British alliance achieved victory over the Russian army on September 20 1854.

History

The initial construction of the bridge took place between 1854 and 1856. It was inaugurated by Napoleon III on 2 April, 1856. At the time, each of the four piers of the bridge was decorated with a statue of military nature: a zouave and a grenadier, by Georges Diébolt, and a skirmisher and an artillery, both sculpted by Arnaud.

Zouave and Floods

For Parisians, the bridge serves as a measuring instrument for water levels and a dam in times of flooding on the Seine. Access to the footpaths by the river embankments usually is closed when the Seine's level reaches the feet of the Zouave statue, and when the water hits the statue's thighs, the river becomes unnavigable. During the great flood of the Seine in 1910, the level reached to the shoulders of the Zouave.

The French Civil Service, however, officially uses the Pont de la Tournelle to gauge the flood levels — not the Pont de l'Alma.

1970 Reconstruction

The bridge underwent complete reconstruction between 1970 and 1974, as it was too narrow to accommodate the increasing traffic both on and below it; moreover, the structure had subsided some 80 centimeters over time. After the reconstruction, only the statue of the Zouave was preserved. The Skirmisher was relocated to the Gravelle Stronghold in Vincennes, the Grenadier to Dijon, and the Artillery to La Fère.

Death of Diana, Princess of Wales

The bridge is close to the Pont de l'Alma tunnel where Diana, Princess of Wales and her companion Dodi Fayed were fatally injured in a car accident on August 31, 1997. The Flame of Liberty at the bridge's north end has become an unofficial memorial to her.

Technical specifications

Pont de l'Alma has a length of 153 meters (502 ft) and a width of 42 meters (138 ft). It was designed by Paul-Martin Gallocher de Lagalisserie.

Access

Location

External links

* [http://lefildutemps.free.fr/paris/pont_alma.htm Pictures of the old and the new bridge]
* [http://www.paris.fr/portail/deplacements/Portal.lut?page_id=238 Bridge history]