Will the Closed Section of A13 Reopen Before the Paris Olympics?
Published on June 7, 2024 at 10:13 pm, updated on June 7, 2024 at 10:23 pm
The A13 highway is crucial for easing traffic in the southwest of Paris. However, after the discovery of cracks on the road, traffic is still interrupted in the direction of the province to the capital. How much longer will the construction work last? There is urgency as it has been nearly two months since a long stretch of the A13 highway, heading from Paris to the province, has been closed. Why are the repairs taking so long?
“The destabilizations and cracks that appeared on the highway also destabilized the ground below. There was a sanitation pipeline under the highway that was broken,” explained Alexandre Bernusset, deputy general manager of the Hauts-de-Seine department, to TF1. The underground network and the roadway were damaged due to the construction of an underground parking lot near the highway.
The traffic is expected to resume before the Olympics, but the cracked stormwater pipes need to be replaced with new 100% watertight pipes before normalcy can be restored. The new pipes have already been delivered, but installing these huge seven-ton concrete blocks is no easy task. “These four elements will be placed next to each other. They will reconstruct a complete pipe that will be connected to the original pipeline,” detailed Anne Rieth De Jonghe, director of water in the Hauts-de-Seine department.
If these modifications are not made, water could infiltrate through the cracks during heavy rains and cause new landslides. “Once the pipe is laid and filled, we will finish the work around June 20. This will then allow us to carry out the roadworks to reopen the highway,” stated Alexandre Bernusset. Therefore, as announced by the prefecture this Friday, the initial reopening schedule by the end of June should be met.
In other words, patience is required for the next three weeks, but everything should be completed in time for the Olympics.