Pont de la Pyle

The bridge is impressive for its dimensions: 351 m long, 9 m wide and 74 m high. It links the 2 shores of Lake Vouglans and was built following the construction of the Vouglans hydroelectric dam. It offers a beautiful view over the lake.

The Pont de la Pyle is a prestressed concrete girder bridge spanning Lake Vouglans between Maisod and Orgelet.
The name of the bridge comes from the name "cluse de la Pyle" (or "défilé de la Pyle"), which refers to the passage that the river Ain crossed through the mountain before the dam was impounded at the level of the current bridge. The word Pyle is thought to come from the Greek Pulè, meaning gateway or defile, or from the Latin Pylae, Pylarum, meaning gates to a country, gorges, defiles or steps (in the sense of "passage").

It crosses the artificial reservoir of Lac de Vouglans, located 24 m below and formed on the river Ain. The bridge deck is at an altitude of 453 m3.
The Pyle bridge is a symmetrical corbelled girder bridge resting on three reinforced concrete piers4 50, 55 and 60 m1 high respectively, and two abutments. The total opening of the bridge is 350 m5, divided into four spans; the two bank spans are 65 m long, while the two central spans are 110 m long4.

The deck, made of prestressed concrete, is over 385 m long and 9.5 m4 wide. The deck was erected from each pier on either side of which two mobile teams moved towards the opposite pier, keeping the structure in balance. This construction technique gave the piers the appearance of giant scales fitted with 55 m long beams. The remaining metres of space between the pieces of deck were filled using formwork1.

You can take a boat trip (Le Louisiane) from the small marina below the bridge (Le Surchauffant).