It is impossible this weekend to drive by car on the Sully bridge in the 5th arrondissement of Paris.
Even pedestrians can't go everywhere.
This Saturday, the prefecture of the Ile-de-France region announced that it had taken safety measures after a river cruise boat hit, last Wednesday, the bridge at the Tournelle arm - in the part located between Saint-Louis Island and the Left Bank.
The Blue Diamond, a riverboat organizing dinner cruises, “damaged the central pass of the bridge,” the authorities said.
An assessment was carried out to determine the damage.
She closed the bridge to vehicle traffic “until further notice”.
Investigations to precisely assess the damage
Pedestrians must use the westernmost sidewalk.
Concerning navigation, boats can no longer pass under the central pass at the level of the Tournelle arm "in view of the proven risk of falling damaged metal elements", specifies on its Voies Navigables de France website.
The authorities had to organize themselves to allow around twenty freight boats more than 60 m long to pass on Saturday afternoon, although they had had to remain at the quay upstream of the bridge until now.
Investigations are continuing “in order to more precisely assess the damage caused to the bridge” to allow normal navigation and traffic to resume, the prefecture said.