Something new on the road to Pas-de-la-Case ! Tuesday October 26, 2021, Etienne Guyot, the prefect of Haute-Garonne and Occitanie, and Xavier Espot Zamora, the head of government of Andorra took stock of the international agreement on the viability of the roads leading to the Principality. And major works are planned! We take stock.

Roads subject to avalanche risk

As a reminder, this agreement between France and Andorra was signed in 2017. Its objective is to improve traffic conditions on RN20, 320 and 22 Between Tarascon-sur-Ariège and the Franco-Andorran border.

“These roads are subject to significant avalanche risks. There are more than thirty corridors through which avalanches are likely to impact the national road. These avalanches compromise the safety of users (in thirty years, ten avalanches have reached the road, four of which have affected a vehicle) ”, indicated the bill authorizing the approval of the agreement.

An invoice of 21 million euros

For these very popular highways, France and the Principality have planned to pay 10.5 million euros each, or one total of 21 million euros which will make it possible to create chaining areas and anti-avalanche devices between the municipality of L’Hospitalet-près-l’Andorre and the border.

But this investment will above all contribute to the creation of “large equipment 300 meters long which will allow – in tunnels or galleries – car access to the Principality while avoiding rockfall and avalanches”, announces Etienne Guyot.

Xavier Espot Zamora believes that Andorra’s financial participation is “natural”, even if these roads are reserved on the French side. “We must not forget that we are talking about a road ax that leads exclusively to Andorra. From this point of view, I believe that Andorra has every interest in this road axis being maintained, well laid out and not cut in winter ”.

Start of work in 2024 on the RN320

This work concerns (and will disrupt) the RN320. While additional studies still need to be carried out, the project schedule is well defined: calls for tenders are scheduled for 2023, construction should start in 2024 and the commissioning is expected by the end of 2025.

To respect this timing, the RN320 will be closed to traffic in order to advance the work as efficiently as possible. “It will not affect access to Andorran resorts,” reassured Etienne Guyot. Indeed, a new road will reopen to limit the inconvenience.

The RN22 will reopen

As part of this vast project, the prefect announced the imminent reopening of the RN22. This ax currently closed to traffic will take over from the national road 320 during the works.

Another project to save time

This is not the only large-scale project carried out on this famous road in Andorra. A little further down, the authorities have approved a Tarascon-sur-Ariège deviation project on Thursday, September 23. The amount of the transaction is € 169.5 million.

The objective is to bypass the town of Ariège by creating a two-way road of 2.2 kilometers which will make it possible to pop a corkhorizon 2027. These new works could start in the course of the year 2024, as for those of the RN320.

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