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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The canal bridge over the Bay is a major art work from the lateral canal to the Garonne, designed to allow barges to cross the Bay without interruption. Located between the communes of Vianne and Feugarolles (Lot-et-Garonne), it was built between 1839 and 1853 under the direction of engineers Jean-Baptiste de Baudre and Jean Gratien de Job, members of Ponts et Chaussées. The work, entirely masonized in Quercy cut stone, is distinguished by its three arches in the middle of the hangar, its pebbles sidewalks, and a neo-classical guardrail decorated with lion muffles.

The canal bridge, about 61 metres long, allows only one-way navigation. It is framed by locks and lock houses, while its batteries are protected by semi-cylindrical beaks upstream and downstream. The oriental bench, covered with black and light pebbles, has a decorative frieze (grecque) over its entire length. Ranked as a Historic Monument in 2003, it illustrates 19th-century hydraulic engineering, similar to the Agen Canal Bridge, and marks a key point in the regional river system.

The approach device, located on the Vianne side, includes a lock and a waiting basin, highlighting the functional integration of the structure into the landscape. Local materials (Quercy stone, pebbles) and architectural details (flat hats, mouled cornice) reflect both practical utility and aesthetic research, characteristic of the great works of the time. Today, there remains a remarkable testimony of the history of the French waterways.

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