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Petit pont
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The site of the Petit-Pont, like that of its counterpart the Grand-Pont (now the Pont Notre-Dame) is without doubt the location where the very first structures across the Seine were built. In his "Commentaries" on the Gallic wars, Julius Caesar mentioned a five-arched bridge already on this site.
In the Middle Ages, the first structure with stone piers was built in 1185. It was destroyed in 1196 and was followed by a lengthy period in which various structures were periodically swept away by flooding or by ice. Between 1394 and 1406, King Charles VI had a three-arch bridge built under the supervision of Raymond du Temple, appointed "Archer of the Guard and Royal Mason". But a few months after completion, it in turn was swept away by floodwaters. Charles VI had it rebuilt between 1409 and 1416 and donated it to the City of Paris.This work managed to survive up to the end of the 17th century, although gradually damaged by the successive floods, but it was finally completely destroyed in the fire of 1718 along with the houses it carried. In 1719, a three-arch stone bridge with no houses was very quickly built in its place.
In 1850, the transformation of the small branch of the Seine into a navigable waterway required replacement of the structure, whose three arches were far too narrow. It was then replaced by the existing bridge with a single 31 m span arch corresponding to the passage offered by the Pont au Double which precedes it just upstream. The bridge was started in March 1852 and was opened in late 1853.
Designers
Michal, engineer and Gariel, contractor
Contractor
Gariel
Construction date
1853
Total length
32 m
Usable width
20 m: 12 m roadway, two pavements of 4 m
Construction principles
Single-arch 1/10 depressed arc of circle stone bridge with 32 m span.
Address
Quai Saint Michel
Quai du Marché Neuf
75005 Paris
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