The ancient economic dream of connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean by waterway in order to avoid the obligatory passage of goods through the Strait of Gibraltar was realized in the 17th century by the Languedoc States on behalf of which Pierre-Paul Riquet excavated the Midi Canal from Sète to Toulouse.

The Midi Canal's waters, via the descent lock of the port de l'Embouchure, which began construction in 1670, joins the Garonne on which traffic continues until Bordeaux.

The space between the two was decorated in 1775 with an allegorical bas-relief carved in Carrara marble by François Lucas, professor at the Royal Academy.

[2][3][4] The irregular course of the Garonne, with variable flows and violent floods, required the construction of a new canal to reach Bordeaux.

The decision was made in 1838, and the construction of the lateral canal to the Garonne was entrusted to the divisional inspector of bridges and causeways, Jean-Baptiste de Baudre.

The ensemble of Ponts-Jumeaux, now three bridges, constitutes a beautiful classic composition and a major work of river heritage.

At the end of the 1970s, the lock and the mouth on the Garonne disappeared with the development of the Toulouse ring road and the construction of the Ponts-Jumeaux interchange.

[1] "The allegorical sculpture depicts Occitania in the center holding the rudder of a boat decorated with the Languedoc cross.