Heavy plate from Dillinger for
the Gustave Flaubert bridge in Rouen

With its two 120 m long independent mobile decks and 86 m high towers, the Gustave Flaubert bridge across the Seine in Rouen, Normandy, is the largest vertical lift bridge in Europe. It links the exit of the A150 motorway and the Sud III ring road RN388, A13 (to the south of Rouen) and A29 (to the north of Rouen). It assures the connection between the port zone and the historical centre of the town and it is named after the famous 19th century French novelist Gustave Flaubert who was born in Rouen. It was officially opened on 29th September 2008. The dual deck, each of which weighing 1,300 t, is supported by four pylons (arranged in pairs) located in the bed of the Seine. Each tower (67 m high) comprises two hollow concrete shafts, resting on an elliptical caisson. Each tower bears on its top an elegant steel structure (19 m high, weighing 450 t), called “butterfly” because of its shape, which evokes the historic dockside cranes of the port of Rouen. This steel wheelwork structure supports the pulleys and cables of the system which lifts the two independent decks (each 120 m long, 17 m wide). Through a worldwide unique lifting principle (subtle combination of winches and counterweights) the two mobile decks can be lifted, similar to an elevator, up to 55 m high in twelve minutes in order to open the river for cruise ships that dock in the city centre. For the realization of this impressive and record-breaking piece of French bridge engineering, Dillinger Hütte supplied 2,400 t of structural steel in thicknesses up to 120 mm.