the prefect of Tarn “strongly wishes that the calendar be respected”
The choice of France bleu Occitanie this morning is to invite François-Xavier Lauch, the prefect of the Tarn to take stock of the future motorway between Castres and Toulouse, the A69 while the National Council for the Protection of Nature has expressed reservations about the projects and that a new action by opponents is defined on the route.
The National Nature Protection Council has just issued an unfavorable opinion on this future highway. Will cat avis slow down the project?
Appraising a motorway project from a regulatory point of view is quite a long process. This opinion is an important step, but it is an advisory opinion, so it is absolutely not blocking in this motorway authorization procedure. I am delighted to see that the dealer (Atosca, editor’s note) takes this opinion very seriously. He makes important remarks on questions of biodiversity, on questions of compensatory measures and I have every confidence in the ability of the concessionaire to further edit his file before the public inquiry.
But in the climate context that we know, scientific experts who say all the same that this file is in contradiction with national commitments in the fight against global warming?
I would like to remind you that this motorway between Toulouse and Castres has been awaited for thirty years in this department. It is also an important subject of cohesion of the territory between the two most important cities of the department, Albi and Castres. It is very important for the economic development of the south of the department and the State is doing everything to strike a balance between the public utility of the motorway and the preservation of biodiversity.
What are the improvements that the dealer will have to carry out following this described opinion?
The concessionaire has done a lot in its project: it must be remembered and not simply read the opinion of the National Council for the Protection of Nature. It does a lot by saving hectares used by the motorway strip, it is a toll-free motorway. It also does a lot by offering prices for electric cars. I am in contact with the dealer every day, he tells me that he is not digging a career to do this motorway. And above all, he told me last week that he was going to take this opinion into account, once again advisory. And I trust him to improve his file before the public inquiry which is scheduled for November. It must be understood that these files are long-term files and that the dealer takes this advice very seriously to improve his file. There are two fundamental things to further improve knowledge of the biodiversity present in the territory and the compensation measures. The dealer is already doing a lot in its file and once again, it will continue this work.
I am in contact with the dealer every day, I trust him to improve his file before the public inquiry
There is no consensus since a new punch action is still planned this morning to block the archaeological excavations linked to the project. Do you regret this new action?
I am very attentive to the people who make my remarks on this project and to the opponents. My role is to make the project happen. He holds a declaration of public utility, so his excavations will take place, I say this strongly. So this project is moving forward. We have taken absolutely considerable steps this spring and indeed, we are entering an operational phase with these excavations.
My role is to make the project happen
Are you going to ask the police to dislodge these opponents of the highway who will disrupt the archaeological excavations this morning?
For the moment, we are not talking about a blockage, we are talking about a demonstration and we will see what will happen. But in any case, there will be no blockage of the archaeological excavations that are taking place from today. This is an important step since it is necessary to verify that there are no archaeological issues before construction.
The future motorway will pass through two 2×2 lane sections that have already been built. The Soual deviation of 3.4 km and the Puylaurens deviation of 7 km. So the inhabitants will be forced to take this A 69. Is it regrettable not to leave the choice to the inhabitants?
The current road, which is a national one, has managed to cross the two towns. So the inhabitants will not be forced to use the highway.
But more than ten kilometers of motorway will take these two times two lanes which are currently free?
Of course, but along the motorway, the road that passes through the villages of Soual and Puylaurens will be preserved and the concessionaire also has obligations to develop its roads. So, there are variants that will be possible for people living near this future highway. It is wrong to say that we leave no solution. And besides, I’m setting up with the president of the county council a development committee in a few weeks which will aim to look very closely at these subjects. Since obviously, the motorway is not born alone: developments are planned around it.
Will work on the A69 start as planned at the beginning of next year?
That’s what I want and I sincerely hope that the timetable set out by the Prime Minister will be respected Jean Castex during his trip to the Tarn (opening in mid-2025, editor’s note).