|
contents | business | |||||||||
| France's first eco-motorway to be opened The 101 km A19 Artenay–Courtenay will be opened to traffic at noon on Tuesday, 16 June, four months ahead of the contractual deadline set with the government, the concession grantor. Linking the A10, A6 and A77, the A19 will complete the outer bypass of the greater Paris region. It is also the final link in the major east-west corridor for vehicles wishing to drive between Nantes and Strasbourg without transiting via Paris. The opening of the A19 marks the completion of France's biggest motorway project. In all, 8,000 people were involved in the project, which represented 4 million hours of work. Executed in record time – barely four years between signature of the concession contract and bringing the motorway into service – the project illustrates the soundness and effectiveness of VINCI's concession operator-designer-builder business model. A socially responsible motorway, the A19 achieves a very high environmental performance in terms of protecting water resources and biodiversity. It has 107 run-off treatment basins, i.e. more than one per kilometre. In addition, it is equipped with animal crossings and 200,000 trees have been planted along its route. A safe motorway, the A19 is innovative in that it is the first in France to test continuous hard shoulder markings – in common with other European countries – in order to provide greater safety for personnel working on the motorway. A user-friendly motorway, the A19 is equipped with eco-designed rest and service areas. In addition, Autoroute FM 107.7, France's leading motorway radio station, will broadcast 24 hours a day for the benefit of private car and HGV drivers. Depending on the time of year, the A19 Artenay–Courtenay is expected to be used by an average of 8, 000 to 9, 000 vehicles a day, of which 20% will be heavy goods vehicles. The majority will be transit traffic, with about 60% of vehicles travelling from one end of the A19 to the other without using the interchanges along its route. On a local basis, the A19 will alleviate the heavy HGV transit traffic on the RN 60 trunk road between Orleans and Courtenay. write your comments about the article :: © 2009 Construction News :: home page |