The Transporter bridge (Pont Transbordeur in French) crosses the Charente river between Rochefort and Echillais in the Charente-Maritime. The last of its kind in France, it is a suspended car or ferry bridge, allowing the river to be crossed without obstructing river traffic. There were once at least five such working bridges in France, but this one at Rochefort is now the last of its type left in France today (there are just a dozen or so in the world).

The bridge is made up of two metal pylons that are 66.25 m high. Between them is a gangway of 175.5 m and suspended from this, at ground level, a platform that travels along the gangway, ferrying traffic across. It takes four minutes to cross.

Originally the platform was moved across the river using a steam engine, though this was replaced by an electric motor in 1927. The platform was designed to take a maximum of nine horse-drawn carriages plus 50 pedestrians or 200 pedestrians on their own. The weight limit is 14 tonnes.

Inaugurated on 29 July 1900, the transporter bridge took just over two years to build. The work was overseen by Ferdinand Arnodin, a French engineer born near Lyon in 1824, and the man considered by many to be the inventor of transporter bridges. He was responsible for building nine of them around the world.

The bridge at Rochefort became largely redundant in the sixties when a more traditional bridge was built a short distance away, and it was due to be demolished. However, it was declared a historic monument in 1976 and was restored in the early 1990s.

Today it is open to foot and cycle traffic and even has its own fête in late July to mark the anniversary of the bridge’s inauguration.

Address and Contact Information
Maison du Transbordeur et Pont Transbordeur
Côté Echillais
Rue de Martrou
17620 Echillais

Tel: +33 5 46 83 30 86
E-mail: contact@pont-transbordeur.fr

Photo 1 by Michel Beau / CC BY 2.0 image cropped; Photo 2, Photo 3 by Frans de Wit / CC BY 2.0 images cropped