The infrastructure serves as a link between the island of Nantes and the Quai de la Fosse, located in the heart of the city. The closure of the Anne de Bretagne bridge has been in effect since April 22, and should last until May 2025. It will allow the complete renovation of the structure. During this period, access is reserved for pedestrians and cyclists only.
By 2026/2027, the new Anne de Bretagne bridge will no longer have anything to do with what it currently is.
Nearly 50 years old, the structure will nevertheless not be destroyed, but included in the new bridge which will be three times as wide in “guaranteeing the perception of a unique work” specifies the project presentation file.
The future Anne de Bretragne bridge in Nantes designed by GTM Ouest and the Dietmar Feichtinger firm.
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© Dietmar Feichtinger Architects
The redevelopment work on the bridge involves its closure for one year from April 22, 2024, as well as that of Boulevard Léon Bureau in its extension. Not at all to the taste of motorists who use it on a daily basis.
“It’s going to be a real hassle. There aren’t many bridges that take us to the other side of the Loire. That worries me. We’re going to have to find solutions, because I take this bridge every day. days”.
It’s annoying me. I work on the island of Nantes, I have no other solution than to go that way
“I’m exhausted just thinking about it. We’re going to have to go all the way around… It’s already something [au niveau circulation] with the bridge, then without the bridge, it will be terrible! We went to 30 km/h everywhere, paid parking everywhere is getting worse and worse,” protested another motorist.
As for this cyclist we met, he stands in solidarity with motorists.
“When we see the number of cars passing, it’s going to be a real disaster! And the future bridge, will it change anything? It’s not very convincing. Let the municipality take care of the people who work, people who waste time in impassable Nantes, people who have children to pick up on their way home.
It destroys people’s morale. All this to make something pretty! Is there nothing else to do in Nantes? »
Marie Tissier, the owner of the Balbakar bar, on the Quai de la Fosse, is not looking forward to this work either.
“This is going to be a real mess! There are many merchants who will be impacted. People won’t come by car anymore, that’s for sure.” she believes, “two years of work, it’s enormous. Will we be compensated? That would surprise me, I don’t believe it at all.”
“A lookout bridge”, “a bridge place”, these are the qualifiers used by the City in September 2022 to present the work of ambitious dimensions. Up to 53 meters wide depending on the location, compared to 18 meters currently.
“It’s the exact equivalent of the Saint-André course” according to the mayor of Nantes, Johanna Rolland.
A square, but also a garden. We announce 1,270 m² of green spaces (nearly 20% of the total surface area) planted with local species from the Armorican massif and Mediterranean varieties more resistant to global warming “what will help fight against heat islands” ensures the metropolis.
Most of the bridge (75%) will be dedicated to pedestrians, cycle lanes and the tram, future lines 6 and 7.
For this project, the City also wishes to display its eco-design approach. “Thanks to the reuse of the current bridge, 4,800 tonnes of concrete will not have to be destroyed and approximately 2,600 m³ of concrete and 1,300 tonnes of steel will not be produced to replace it.” we emphasize in the presentation of the new bridge.
It is also specified that part of the materials will be transported to the site by barge on the Loire: “Transporting the 2,000 tonnes of framework will avoid 200 round trips by truck.”
“This project will mark the Nantes landscape, believes Johanna Rolland. It is a real square that will be created on the Loire… offering a new place for walking, peaceful and festive, with multiple points of view and contemplation, on a city and its metropolis which are reopening step by step to their river.”
Same enthusiasm among the designers.
“I don’t think there is a comparable bridge in France, nor in the world, in terms of its width, its ratio of soft traffic/tram to car lanes, its status as a real public place on the water and its ecological ambitions.” declares the Austrian architect who designed the project Dietmar Feichtinger.
The simulation of the future Anne de Bretagne bridge by the Dietmar Feichtinger Architectes firm
Total cost: 50 million euros excluding tax, delivery planned for 2026/2027. Important clarification: pedestrian and two-wheeler traffic will be maintained during the work.
Article originally published in November 2023.
