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Wide Berth For The Pedestrians of Paris
The 37th bridge over the Seine in Paris is named after Simone de Beauvoir. But it is known as ‘La Lentille’ – ‘The Lens’, after its characteristic, unusual geometry. The middle of the bridge spans the river without external support and thus forms a combined suspension and arch bridge. Structural steel plate was required for the bridge, up to 150mm thick and with improved forming properties perpendicular to the surface. In order to keep welding to a minimum, , 4,000 mm wide were used. This steel plate was supplied by our parent company Dillinger Hütte.
It had to be thin
The design of the 106-meter long ‘La Lentille’ meant that it had to prefabricated in the workshop of a manufacturer of special steel plates. Because the workshop was situated a long way from Paris, in Alsace, it was important for the construction to be as thin as possible. This was achieved. Everything went very smoothly – at the end of 2005 ‘La Lentille’ was transported over the Rhine to the North Sea in order to travel up the Seine from Le Havre, via the English Channel. The bridge was immediately put in position from the ship on 28 January 2006.
Facts at a glance
- Length: 304 m; Width 12 m; Span: 194 m
- Steel plate qualities: S355N/NL
- Delivered quantity: 1,600 tonnes
- Opening date: July 2006
- Architect: Feichtinger Architectes
- Owner: The city of Paris
- Planning: R.F.R. Bureau
