48°23′04″N 4°29′48″W / 48.384381°N 4.496541°W / 48.384381; -4.496541

Pont de Recouvrance
The Pont de Recouvrance and the Penfeld
Coordinates48°23′03.7″N 04°29′47.3″W / 48.384361°N 4.496472°W / 48.384361; -4.496472
CarriesRue de Siam
CrossesPenfeld River
LocaleBrest, Brittany, France
Characteristics
DesignVertical-lift bridge
MaterialReinforced concrete, steel
Height70m
Longest span88 metres (289 ft)
History
Construction start1950
Construction end1954
Opened1954
Location
Map

The Pont de Recouvrance (French pronunciation: [pɔ̃ ʁəkuvʁɑ̃s]) is a vertical-lift bridge in Brest, France, across the river Penfeld. Opened on 17 July 1954, it was the largest[clarification needed] vertical-lift bridge in Europe[citation needed] until the opening of the Rouen Pont Gustave-Flaubert in 2008. It links the bottom of the rue de Siam to the quartier de Recouvrance, replacing a swing bridge (the pont National) destroyed by Allied bombardment in 1944.

Each pylon is 70m high, and the 525-tonne lift span is 88m long.

Trolley bus

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The bridge was crossed by trolleybuses from its opening in 1954 until the closure of the Brest trolleybus system, in 1970.[1]

Trams

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The lift span was renovated in 2011 to allow the new tram line to cross the bridge. The tram line opened by July 2012.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Haseldine, Peter (July–August 2010). "Two French closures" (40th anniversaries of). Trolleybus Magazine issue 292, pp. 74–75. National Trolleybus Association (UK). ISSN 0266-7452.
  2. ^ Today's Railways Europe No. 214, p15

Sources

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  • Le pont levant de Brest, brochure edited by La Télémécanique Électrique (1954 ?)
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