Dossier:
Bridges

Pont Mirabeau

Lovers of Paris will always watch the water flow beneath the Pont Mirabeau. One day, perhaps, it will be renamed Pont Apollinaire (Apollinaire Bridge) since nostalgia for one particular line has made him so famous. At the time he wrote "Pont Mirabeau" (Mirabeau Bridge), he lived in Auteuil.

A tireless walker, he often used the bridge to return home, fascinated by the Seine. He explains this in "Zone": "You walk towards Auteuil, you want to go home on foot.../Shepherdess, oh my Tour Eiffel, the flock of bridges bleats this morning...". Was he coming back from his friend Chagall, at the Ruche (Beehive) in the 15th arrondissement? With a little water and the name of a bridge, Apollinaire created a wonderful poem where the passing of time and the ephemeral nature of love reflect the constant flow of the water. There is a recording of the poet's voice reading his verses on cylinder, before the death of Apollinaire, by the Studio-Laboratoire des Archives de la Parole (Voice Archive Studio-Laboratory) which had started to record famous voices in 1911 at the Sorbonne. This is certainly the oldest recording to celebrate the Seine. The Pont Mirabeau dates back to 1893. Its three arches are very beautifully worked in steel. This was carried out by Résal, the engineer on Alexander III bridge and the Debilly footbridge. With this material it was possible to bring the central arch to a height of 100 m, which would not have been possible had stone been used. Its delicate parapet gives it an old-fashioned charm, and four plump bronze statues stand astride the prows of boats that form the cutwaters of the piers. One of them holds the trumpet of Fame to its mouth, and seems to be declaiming some sort of message. These are the four sea deities by A. Injalbert.

Designer

A. Injalbert.

Construction date

Built in 1893.

Usable width

20 m.

Construction principles

Three metal arches of 32, 93 and 32 m, seven steel cantilever girders.

Each girder has two symmetrical halves, each supporting the other at the keystone by means of a hinge.

Supported on piers by picot pins; supports on abutments with pin tie.

(A cantilever semi-girder has a 49 m span and a 37 m height.)

Decoration

Abutments on piles.

Piers on caissons sunk using compressed air and resting on chalk.

Address

quai Louis-Blériot
quai André Citroën
75016 Paris