Normandy Bridge

This famous bridge separates two different cities: the port city of Le Havre and the resort city of Honfleur.

The bridge was built not so much for aesthetic reasons as for economic ones. It significantly reduced the distance between Upper and Lower Normandy (as much as 40 kilometers) and also improved trade relations with the south-west of Spain and Great Britain.

Normandy is a cable-stayed bridge more than 2,000 meters long. It had been considered the longest suspension bridge in the world until the Tatara Bridge was built in Japan in 1999. Having lost the world title, Normandy still retained European superiority.

The bridge is located quite high, at a level of about 60 m. Besides, it is so strong that it can withstand gusty winds up to 300 km/h.

It took 15 years to develop the project of one of Honfleur's main attractions. By the way, French President Jacques Chirac laid the foundation stone of the bridge in 1988. 7 years later, the bridge was officially opened.

As the bridge construction was large-scale, architects had to solve a lot of problems. For example, to prevent the soil from being washed away by the tides, it was covered with a special geotextile, poured with tons of sand. It took 3 years to strengthen the riparian mud cliffs. The pylons of the bridge were surrounded by protective islands. The construction of the central part of the bridge had begun only in 1993, but the first pedestrian bridge passage was launched just a year later.

Naturally, such a large-scale project attracted public attention. To serve the interest of engineers, journalists, tourists, and locals, the construction site was turned into a place for guided tours. Moreover, these tours were very popular: about 70,000 people came to see the Normandy Bridge every year.