- Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor
The passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor, formerly known as passerelle Solférino (or pont de Solférino), is a footbridge over the
River Seine in theVIIe arrondissement ofParis . It is served by the Metro station Assemblée Nationale.The first bridges
For a century, it was the
cast iron bridge inaugurated byNapoleon III in1861 which allowed vehicles to cross betweenquai Anatole-France andquai des Tuileries . Built by the engineers of thePont des Invalides ,Paul-Martin Gallocher de Lagalisserie andJules Savarin , it was named after the June1859 French victory of theBattle of Solferino . Having weakened over time (particularly due to barges crashing into it), it was demolished and replaced in1961 with a steel footbridge, demolished in its turn in1992 .The present bridge
The new "passerelle de Solférino" linking the
Musée d'Orsay and the "Jardin des Tuileries " (Tuileries Gardens) was built between1997 and1999 under the direction of the engineer and architectMarc Mimram . Crossing the Seine with a single span and no piers, this metallic bridge is architecturally unique and covered in exotic trees (Tabebuia s, aBrazil ian tree also used for outdoor flooring at theBibliothèque nationale de France ) which gives it a light and warm appearance. Its solidity is, however, never in doubt - at either end, its foundations are in the form of concrete pillars extending 15m into the ground, and the structure itself is made up of six 150 tonne components built by the Eiffel engineering company, "Eiffel Constructions métalliques". Its innovative architecture brought Marc Mimram the award "Prix de l'Équerre d'Argent " for the year1999 .The bridge also has benches and lampposts for promenaders who can reach the Jardin des Tuileries through a subterranean passage on the Rive Droite.
The bridge was renamed after
Léopold Sédar Senghor on9 October 2006 on the centenary of this birth.Location
External links
* [http://www.mimram.com/framesetsolferino.html Site of Marc Mimram]
* [http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/actualites/communiq/solferino141299.htm Press communiqué on the inauguration in 1999]
* [http://www.paris.fr/portail/deplacements/Portal.lut?page_id=233 Mmairie de Paris site]
* [http://fr.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0000142 Structurae: Passerelle Solférino]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=48.861877,2.324628&spn=0.003775,0.009112&t=k&hl=fr Satellite view on Google Maps]
* [http://www.20minutes.fr/articles/2006/10/10/20061010-Paris-A-Paris-Solferino-s-efface-au-profit-de-Senghor.php A Paris, Solférino s'efface au profit de Senghor] , article on "20 minutes".
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