The Footbridge That Defies Gravity Over the Garonne River in Toulouse Soon to Be Accessible

Sarens was responsible for assisting Eiffage with the lifting of 12 bridge sections throughout the project, including 4 sections of the main mast and 8 additional sections of the bridge.

On the Left Bank, the “Rapas” footbridge now spans the Garonne River with a main span of 150 meters, a width of 5 meters, and a mast rising 65 meters above the water.

Since July 2022, the Rapas footbridge in Toulouse has been under construction. Despite some delays, the bridge was completed this summer and officially inaugurated by the city council, Toulouse Métropole, on June 22nd.

Sarens, the global leader in heavy lifting, engineered transport, and crane rental services, was tasked with supporting Eiffage in lifting the bridge and mast sections during the project. The Rapas footbridge on the Left Bank spans the Garonne River with a main span of 150 meters, a width of 5 meters, and a mast height of 65 meters above the water, potentially making it one of the city’s tallest structures.

The 65-meter main mast was divided into 4 sections, while the remaining 8 bridge sections were partly lifted from the riverbank using a CC2500 crane and partly from the river’s surface using a crane on a modular barge. The largest bridge section weighed 51 tonnes and measured approximately 1.225 meters in height, 6.5 meters in width, and 17.2 meters in length, while the largest mast section weighed 62 tonnes, measuring 3.89 meters in height, 14 meters in length, and 3.84 meters in width. The bridge sections were welded together to complete the structure.

The footbridge is a metal construction with concrete supports and ramps. Following the installation of the 65-meter tower head above the Garonne, the deck sections were gradually assembled over the river, guided from the island to the embankment on the Avenue de Muret side. After the assembly was completed and a technical inspection phase was conducted, the final phase involved connecting the footbridge to public spaces and opening it to pedestrians and cyclists. The pylon head of this long, straight structure, with no supports, is now visible on the Île du Ramier.

All site equipment had to be installed within 10 months, including a CC2500 (Crawler Crane), a SSL114m (Super Lift), a Sennebogen SH35.5m, a Sarens Modular Barge, 3 electrical chain blocks with a 20-tonne capacity, and 8 strand jacks to secure the bridge mast during erection before installing the final main mast shrouds.

All equipment was transported from Belgium to Toulouse by truck, requiring 23 trucks for the CC2500 crane and 26 trucks for the Sarens Modular Barge. The CC2500 took 4 days to install, while the Sarens Modular Barge required 10 days.

On one side of Île du Ramier, the Rapas footbridge will provide access to the former Exhibition Centre area, soon to be one of Toulouse’s largest esplanades, as well as the Fer à Cheval district, the Avenue de Muret tramway, and the cycle network on the embankment.

The “aerial” pedestrian bridge features a single mast, reversing the typical V-shaped design of other Toulouse bridges. The absence of any support in the river ensures maximum protection for the Garonne’s ecological corridor and its biodiversity, while also providing a high level of flood resilience.

The Rapas footbridge will be exclusively accessible to pedestrians and cyclists, similar to the Empalot footbridge on the opposite side of the island. Through the Grand Parc Garonne project, Toulouse Métropole aims to radically transform Île du Ramier, previously occupied by the old Exhibition Centre and numerous parking lots, into the future ‘green lung’ of the Pink City.

Over the past decades, Sarens has established itself as a key player in similar projects. We have completed several major projects, including the installation of the OA14 bridge, weighing 5,850 tonnes, in Bettembourg (Luxembourg). Sarens also installed another pedestrian bridge between the Hazebrouck railway station (France) and its car park, and an 8.400-tonne railway bridge on the A1 motorway in Amsterdam (Netherlands). Additionally, we replaced a railway bridge in central Stockholm (Sweden) using the “floatover” method. Most recently, Sarens worked on the renovation of the century-old Colbert Bridge in Dieppe, in north-west France, classified as a historic monument, leaving it as good as new after 135 years.