Viaduc de l'île d'Oléron

Descriptif

Inaugurated in 1966, the Oleron bridge links France's largest island on the Atlantic coast to the mainland, and the second largest island on the French coast after Corsica.

From the 1960s onwards, with the boom in seaside vacations, ferries were no longer sufficient to transport holidaymakers' cars. The Charente-Maritime General Council decided to build a bridge.



At the time, the bridge was a remarkable feat of engineering, spanning 3027 meters and 46 spans over the Coureau d'Oléron, a narrow strait separating the island from the Pointe du Chapus, and the mainland from the island.

It was completed on March 19, 1966, after ten months' work. Its design, a beam bridge, was revolutionary at the time of its conception.



Crossing the bridge offers beautiful views of the coastline, very different depending on the time of the tide, from open sea to oyster beds.