BRIDGESPOTTING

Located about two miles east of Notre Dame, the Pont Charles De Gaulle is a perfectly sleek, flat, unadorned modern traffic bridge built in 1994. Not only does the bridge not have any visual texture to its structure, but it was also deliberately designed to hide the structure. The steel girders have been covered by a silver-colored sheet metal sheathing that gives the bridge a completely smooth, slightly curved surface. The sheathing covers the entire underside of the bridge, then curves upwards on its sides to form the railings, which are solid and so high that they obscure the view of most of the vehicles crossing the bridge. From most vantage points, the bridge just looks like a perfectly flat, straight silver line crossing the river.

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Of course, this silver line must sit on piers, and it does. The silver base of the bridge deck sits about eight feet above the tops of the two concrete piers. The connection between the pier and the bridge within this eight-foot space is made by four upturned, open-sided cones, two on each pier. Each cone consists of 12 rods, arranged so that they all meet at the base on the pier and angle upward to support the smooth underbelly of the bridge. Because the rods spread in a cone, they create open space between them as they rise toward the bridge. To add to the weightless effect, the rods are painted white, making them all but invisible. From a distance, the effect is to make the silver line of the bridge appear daintily perched on a few narrow metal fingers.

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This daytime appearance of the bridge is impressive. However, the effect really jumps out at night. During the daytime, the smooth, curved sheet metal sheathing is just that – aluminum-colored sheet metal sheathing. However, the shape of the edges of the bridge is cleverly curved to hide lighting fixtures and to capture and reflect light from those fixtures. At night, the sheet metal sheathing turns into a perfectly straight, narrow band of white light. Then, there are also lights hidden within the cones on the piers which light their interiors. So, at night, the straight white line of light is supported not on piers, but on four beams of light. The effect is spectacular, and worth making the trek from the tourist area.

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I have offered a detailed description of the Pont Charles de Gaulle in Chapter 5 of my book, Bridgespotting: A Guide to Bridges that Connect People, Places, and Times. The book also includes a description of a general walking tour of the bridges of Paris in Chapter 9.