Jacques Chaban-Delmas Bridge, Paul Skelton, featured on “How Did They Build That?”

October 3, 2024

The Jacques Chaban-Delmas Bridge, an H&H project, was recently featured on the Smithsonian Channel Show “How Did They Build That?” Project Principal-in-Charge Paul Skelton and a host of experts were interviewed about the bridge, which is located in Bordeaux, France. The segment debuted on Smithsonian Channel at 9 PM ET on Sunday, September 29, 2024, “Floating and Lifting,” S3, E7, on How Did They Build That?  In the segment, Skelton describes how the machinery lifts the bridge span for marine vessel traffic and shares memories from the construction process.

H&H was a member of the winning design-build team for the vertical lift bridge has a span length of 383 feet, a width of 141 feet, and a design lift height of 164 feet. The lift span has a symmetrical cross-section and carries four traffic lanes, two outboard pedestrian paths, and two monorail tracks. The bridge was designed to accommodate light rail tracks for future use.

H&H provided conceptual design, detailed final design, and construction support and supervision for the lift bridge mechanization and operating systems, working in concert with the Vinci Group, the design-build contractor, and the design consortium of EGIS Jean Muller International; Michel Virlogeux; and Lavigne-Cheron Architects. The design resulted in a highly efficient system that allowed for the light appearance of the bridge elements and towers.

Operation of the lift span is achieved via high-strength wire ropes passing over sheaves that connect the lift span to a counterweight system. Electric motors and flux vector regenerative drives operate a wire rope winch system capable of vertically positioning counterweights within the bridge towers, raising and lowering the span.

The bridge was dedicated on March 16, 2013, by the President of France, François Hollande. It handles 43,000 vehicles daily and reduces traffic congestion in the Bordeaux region. The Jacques Chaban-Delmas Bridge has become an iconic structure and advanced the city’s urban development.

 

Paul Skelton, as he appears in the episode.