Pont de Merle

Just 500m from the Tours de Merle historic and tourist site, on the D13 linking the communes of St-Geniez-ô-Merle and St-Bonnet-les-Tours, look out over Europe's 2nd largest timber-framed bridge, the only one of its kind to have replaced the single-span suspension bridge built at the end of the 19th century. The bridge's features include a 30 m high crossing over the Maronne river (a tributary of the Dordogne), 250 tons of Douglas fir timber, a 56 m span, 6 25 m high crutches in the form of a St-André cross, and a 10 m wide carriageway. The Merle bridge has been open to traffic since 1999, and is a prime example of Corrèze's timber industry.