Asfeld Bridge

In his second project, dated 1700, Vauban proposed the defensive occupation of the Trois Têtes plateau and the junction with the town by a road crossing the Durance on a stone bridge with two arches and a central pier. As part of the major works ordered by the Marquis d'Asfeld in 1720, the construction of the bridge was necessary. First of all, the access road had to be built, a difficult task that lasted almost a year. Then, after having shaped the places for the anchoring of the abutments (parts located on the bank intended to support the weight of the deck), a wooden scaffold with hangers was built in order to install the voussoirs (stones forming the arch).
The construction work began on the city side. It took six months to close the arch, and then another year to complete the work, which was inaugurated with great fanfare in 1731.
This daring work consists of a single semicircular arch with a span of more than 38 m, almost 55 m above the bed of the Durance. In the middle of the bridge is an iron cross topped by a stone pyramid. A bronze plaque indicates the date 1734, three years after the end of the work. This seems to correspond to the date on which Claude-François Bidal, Marquis d'Asfeld, became Marshal of France. Apart from some rectifications to the access road in the 19th century, the work has not been modified in any way. It was completely restored in 1987. The fort belongs to the town of Briançon and is one of the works included on the World Heritage List for the work of Vauban.