Inaugurated in 1984, the famous Pont des Arts, once adorned with the padlocks of lovers from all over the world, will be renovated in 2022.

A symbolic bridge

As Valentine’s Day approaches, a facelift of the Pont des Arts was announced this Thursday, February 10 by the City of Paris. After the replacement of the mesh panels threatened with collapse under the weight of the “love padlocks”, it is the wooden decking that must be given a new look, on this romantic place in the capital. After the Triangle tower, another project is slated for Paris in 2022: the renovation of the Pont des Arts.

love weighs too much

This is what David Belliard, deputy (EELV) to the roads of the town hall of Paris declared this Thursday. The announcement comes awfully on time, four days before Valentine’s Day. Indeed, nearly a million “love padlocks” have been placed there, gradually decorating its mesh panels. At least until 2014, the year during which the City of Paris decided to withdraw them, both to counter the “sustainable degradation of heritage” and the “risk of collapse“. But these small romantic memories tended to weigh on the structure, with 45 tons precisely. Glass panels ended up taking place on the monument, in order to prevent the lovebirds from installing or reinstalling their padlock.

Holes in the planks

But the famous bridge is not at the end of its troubles, because its wooden decking, by dint of patching up, holes and wobbly planks, has been in very poor condition for several years. A risk arousing strong criticism against the mayor of Paris, which has still not started work on this part of the footbridge. David Belliard, Deputy Mayor of Paris confirmed that work was going to be undertaken to renovate the bridge, during the last Council of Paris. 2022 without for the moment specifying the start date of the work.