Three steel road bed sections (fixed: 2 x 150m, lifting: 1 x 120m) will be made by Cimolai in Italy, close to Venice, and floated through the Mediterranean and the Atlantic to reach the Garonne river.
Length of mobile, lifting section: 117 m
Navigable channel width: 106 m
Pylon height: 77 m
Height of raised section above water when lifted: 53 m
Weight of liftable section: 2,600 tonnes
Time to raise roadway: 11 minutes
Predicted number of lifts in a year: 60
Protective bases, that enclose the lifting mechanisms: 44m by 18m, 16.5m high, about 5,000 tonnes weight
First stone laid: 9 December 2009, near avenue Lucien Faure
Bases and protective island for pylons: to be towed into position, then sunk: June 2010 for the left bank and January 2011 for the right bank
Pylons to be erected, access roads, lifting mechanism: 2011 to summer 2012
Installation of mobile section: summer 2012
Works to be completed: end of 2012
Designers: Egis-JMI, Lavigne & Cheron Architects, and Hardesty & Hanover
Consultant engineer: Michel Virlogeux
Main constructor: Vinci Construction
Overall cost: 145,8 million euro - City of Bordeaux: 94.27M €, State: 18.29M €, region: 15.24M €, département: 18M €
Annual maintenance budget: 0.5M €
Regards,
Peter Langone