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Origin and history

The bridge of Gignac, located on the road linking Montpellier to Lodève, was planned in 1774 by Bertrand Garipuy, director of public works of Languedoc, succeeding his father François Garipuy. The work, begun in 1776, was marked by major technical challenges, including complex foundations in the bed of the Hérault, where the rock plunged up to 10 metres deep. A small model of the bridge, built at a scale of 1/6 on Larnoux Creek between 1776 and 1777, allowed the architectural choices to be validated before the final construction.

The death of the Garipuy in 1782, victims of an epidemic of suette, temporarily interrupted the construction site, then taken over by their nephew Jean Antoine Marie Thérèse Ducros. The work, financed by the General States of Languedoc, was slowed down by the French Revolution and the depreciation of the assignates. Despite a final cost of over £1 million, the bridge was completed in 1810 under the direction of engineer Jean Emmanuel Fontenay, after interruptions between 1790 and 1803.

The bridge, characterized by a large low central arch of 48.42 metres flanked by two lateral arches of 25.97 metres, was designed to withstand the frequent floods of the Hérault. Its foundations, built inside of coffers with screws for exhaustion, and its masonry hangers, inspired by the collapse of a wooden hanger during a previous project, testify to the technical innovation of the time. In 1895, modifications were made to allow the passage of the departmental railway, and the bridge was inscribed in the historic monuments on December 29, 1950.

Before its construction, a former medieval bridge, destroyed by a flood three hundred years before 1675, occupied the same site. François Garipuy's initial project in 1756, estimated at 180,000 pounds, was abandoned due to revised costs of 510,000 pounds after surveys revealing more complex foundations. The final choice of an expanded central arch reduced the costs of foundations, although the project eventually exceeded all initial estimates.

The cut stones come from a quarry near the Pouget, and the masonries of the foundations were made in rubble of Saint-Beauzile bound by a puzzolan mortar. The bridge, 174.76 metres long and 20.64 metres high, remains a remarkable example of 18th-century bridge architecture, combining functionality and aesthetics. Its history reflects the technical, financial and political challenges of its time, as well as the perseverance of the engineers who designed it.

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