Its location at the entrance to the valley was chosen to allow sailing boats to continue providing services to the upstream commune of Hennebont.

It was then demolished, with the exception of its two pillars, and replaced by a second structure by Jacques Mathivat, reusing the girder bridge technique.

The name comes from a rock on the left bank of the Blavet, on the Kervignac side, which, seen from a certain angle, resembles a human form.

At the time, it was known as either Passage "de la Couthume" or "du Bonhomme", named after a nearby locality on the Kervignac bank.

The various public tenders launched at the time for its management met with little success, as travelers could use the Hennebont bridge upstream, or other ferries downstream, immediately linking the Pen-Mané district of Riantec[nb 2] to the center of Lorient.

In 1874, the General Council of Morbihan called for the enlargement of the passage, but after studying the project, the engineer from the Corps of Bridges and Roads pointed out the lack of viability.

Not finding it in its commercial interest for the road in question to avoid its city,[nb 3] they passed on their concerns to the prefect, citing the high cost of the project, which was eventually canceled.

When consulted on the subject, they voiced their opposition at the Town Council meeting held on 31 May 1895, requesting that the bridge be over 30 m high, to allow the tallest brigs to pass through to the port of Locoyarne, where a coal and timber trade had developed.

[11] The towns took charge of their upkeep,[12] but because of the high costs involved, in 1922, their municipal councils asked for the roads to be classified as being of public interest.

However, despite the support of the Lorient Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he was unable to secure the agreement of the cities involved,[13] and obtained only a slight increase limited to carriages and horses.

[12] Faced with these problems, in the early 1920s the operator began to talk about the possibility of the bridge being bought out by the Morbihan General Council, a solution which was eventually implemented.

[14] The structure, damaged by the French army in June 1940 following the advance of German troops, was quickly repaired by the occupying forces, who used it for vehicle transit.

Downstream, the area is underlain by micaschists and quaternary sediments, offering little resistance to erosion, and forming a large valley whose banks are bordered by wide mudflats.

[17] The cable-stayed bridge technique is common to many other structures built in Brittany at this time to cross estuaries or rias.