East River Bridge

We must save the Suspension bridge of the East River

A few kilometers from the Indian Ocean, not far from the village of Sainte-Anne, you will come across the Suspension Bridge of the Rivière de l'Est. Located at the east of the island of Réunion, it separates the municipal territories from Sainte-Rose and of St. Benedict. Almost 150 meters long, its work began in 1892 and ended two years later.

In the 19th century, to overcome the difficulties of circulation of the shore of Sainte-Rose at that of Saint-Benoît, a few projects to manufacture a bridge were launched, but ended in failure. The constructions did not resist the power of the East River for long.

The idea of a suspension bridge then made its way into the mind of Pierre-Joseph Bonnin, engineer of bridges and roads. A first pedestrian footbridge on pylons is born on intense island. It was ultimately Ferdinand Arnodin who built the Eastern River Suspension Bridge using the pillars already present.

Listed as a historical monument since 2014, the Rivière de l'Est suspension bridge is a force of nature. With its 25 tons of cast iron and 103 kilometers of braided cables, no cyclone got the better of it. After its closure in 1979, it was only used for walking. Once on the bridge, you had a bird's eye view of the Rivière de l'Est more than 42 meters below.

Unfortunately, this time it needs a facelift, it was prohibited from pedestrian access in 2016 due to its fragility. The Suspension Bridge of the Rivière de l'Est is also one of the 18 monuments selected for restoration by the heritage lottery sponsored by Stéphane Bern.

Après sa rénovation, le pont a retrouvé sa splendeur d’antan, avec une structure renforcée, des câbles neufs et une esthétique améliorée.

La rénovation a probablement permis de moderniser les équipements et de garantir la sécurité des usagers, tout en préservant le caractère historique et culturel de ce monument. De plus, cela a sûrement contribué à renforcer l’attrait touristique de la région, attirant davantage de visiteurs souhaitant admirer ce chef-d’œuvre d’ingénierie.

Après les travaux de rénovation, le pont suspendu de la Rivière de l’Est offre probablement une expérience de traversée plus agréable et sécurisée, tout en continuant à symboliser la connexion entre les communautés et les régions de l’île de La Réunion.

For more than visits to Reunion consult our interactive map of Réunion.