Scheduled along the Seine (July 26), the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has some complications, and a damaged bridge is one of them. So the Paris town hall must hurry to repair it before the start of the games.
A race against time has begun in Paris to repair a bridge, damaged by a boat, before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on the Seine on July 26, even if the town hall wants to be reassuring about the deadlines.
On January 31, the riverboat “The Blue Diamond” hit the Sully bridge, a 19th century metal arch bridge located to the east of the island of Saint-Louis, in the heart of the capital, at its southern arm, on the left bank side, explained the prefecture of region a few days later.
The central pass of the bridge was damaged, with two pieces of arches torn off. As a result, automobile traffic on this axis was cut off.
As for river traffic under the bridge, already regulated in normal times depending on the direction and size of the boats, it has been reorganized and is subject to strict surveillance.
Towards the downstream, boats over 100 meters cannot pass under the rugged pass “only in dedicated slots” one hour per day, “after observing the bridge”Pierre Rabadan, the deputy in charge of sport, the Olympic Games and the Seine, told AFP on Tuesday.
The authorities are also studying the passage of boats over 60 m on the other arm, less wide, on the right bank side, normally prohibited, he specifies.
Repairs have not yet started pending “additional studies”indicates Anne Hidalgo’s deputy, according to which the regional prefecture and town hall are working on a timetable which allows “return to a normal situation as soon as possible” all in “impacting river traffic as little as possible”.
The consolidation of the bridge, which requires “remove the damaged part”should take between one and two months, estimates Mr. Rabadan, certain “that the bridge will be secure during the Games”.
According to Anne Hidalgo’s deputy, “there is no risk that we will not be able to consolidate the bridge before the ceremony” opening, a river parade of around a hundred boats which will transport the delegations of athletes over six kilometers from the Pont d’Austerlitz to the Pont d’Iéna.
