The Pont Saint-Jean in Bordeaux

Where is the Pont Saint-Jean?

The Pont Saint-Jean is a road bridge crossing the Garonne south of the city centre, linking the Paludate district and Gare Saint-Jean on the left bank to the Bastide quarter on the right bank. On the left bank, access is via the Boulevard des Freres Moga opposite the bus station. On the right bank, the bridge continues onto the Boulevard Joliot Curie, which meets the Avenue Thiers roughly 2.5 kilometres further on.

The bridge stands alongside the former Passerelle Eiffel and the Pont Garonne railway bridge, forming a trio of crossings within a few metres of each other. It is the first road bridge over the Garonne within the Bordeaux city limits when coming from the south, the next downstream crossing being the Pont Francois Mitterrand between Begles and Bouliac, three kilometres away. Designed by the architect Fayeton, the Pont Saint-Jean stretches over 500 metres, rests on five piers and comprises eight spans, in a straightforward style typical of 1960s French civil engineering.

The origins of the bridge

For a long time, Bordeaux had only two bridges across the Garonne, the Passerelle Eiffel for trains and the Pont de Pierre for road traffic, pedestrians and cyclists. Until the 1960s, a single crossing served all non-rail traffic, a bottleneck that goes some way towards explaining the slower urban development of the right bank compared with the western suburbs.

Construction of the Pont Saint-Jean by the firm Campenon Bernard took just two years, from 1963 to 1965. The project encountered neither public controversy nor significant technical obstacles, in marked contrast to the Pont d'Aquitaine, whose construction further north was far more contentious. The bridge takes its name from the neighbouring Gare Saint-Jean railway station.

The Pont Saint-Jean today

The bridge is essential to daily traffic in Bordeaux, providing a direct link between the right bank and the city centre via the quays, and offering the most straightforward road access to Gare Saint-Jean. A large share of the traffic between central Bordeaux and the right-bank communes of Floirac, Bouliac and Latresne passes over the Pont Saint-Jean, and it also carries vehicles heading towards Bergerac, Libourne, the ring road and Cenon.

Traffic volumes are expected to grow in the coming years, particularly as the nearby Pont de Pierre is likely to face periods of closure for safety works. Restrictions on motor vehicles were already trialled on the Pont de Pierre in 2017 to combat inner-city pollution, redirecting traffic to the Pont Saint-Jean. The completion of the Pont Simone Veil is expected to relieve congestion on the bridge significantly. The Pont Saint-Jean itself has undergone maintenance works, most recently during the summer of 2020, when one direction of traffic was closed overnight to minimise disruption to the city.

The Pont Saint-Jean connects two of Bordeaux's most dynamic property markets, with period apartments near the station quarter on the left bank and family houses with gardens on the rapidly developing right bank. A full selection of properties is available among the properties for sale in Bordeaux.

For buyers weighing up the advantages of each bank, the consultants at BARNES Bordeaux can advise on commute times, neighbourhood character and the best addresses on both sides of the Garonne, from the initial property valuation to the final signature. The team is available via the contact page.

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