Pont National

For the bridge in Brest, see Pont National (Brest). For the bridge in Paris known as the Pont National from 1792 to 1804, see Pont Royal.

Pont National
National Bridge
Coordinates	48°49′42″N 02°23′16″E
Crosses	Seine
Locale	Paris, France
Next upstream	Pont amont
Next downstream	Pont de Tolbiac
Characteristics
Design	arch bridge
Total length	188.5 metres (618 ft)
Width	34 metres (112 ft)
History
Construction start	1852
Construction end	1853
Opened	1853
Location

The pont National (French pronunciation: [pɔ̃ nasjɔnal]; named pont Napoléon-III from its construction until 1870) is a road and rail bridge across the Seine in Paris, to the east of the 12th and 13th arrondissements. With a total length of 188.5 metres (618 ft), it is made up of 5 masonry arches. Its rail part carries the Petite Ceinture, now disused, and its road part links boulevard Poniatowski to boulevard Masséna. Its nearest Paris Métro stations are Porte de Charenton and Cour Saint-Émilion.

History

Location on the Seine

It was built between 1852 and 1853 as a railway bridge (to allow the Petite Ceinture line to cross the river) and to link the "enceintes" on the two sides of the river. Its architects were E. Couche, Petit, Gaspard, and Netter. Its width was doubled with an addition on the upstream side in 1936.

See also

• List of crossings of the River Seine

External links

• (in French) Mairie de Paris Archived 2009-07-13 at the Wayback Machine
• (in French) Structurae