Three years after the Mirepoix tragedy, what is the state of the bridges around Toulouse?
By Thibaut Calatayud
Published on
The morning of Monday, November 18, 2019 must have been an ordinary day. But a huge crash came to traumatize the whole town of Mirepoix-sur-Tarn (Haute-Garonne), north of Toulouse. The suspension bridge that spans the Tarn has collapsed. The disaster killed two people: a 15-year-old girl and a 38-year-old truck driver.
In Mirepoix, a truck too heavy for the bridge
Three years later, an investigation is still underway to understand what happened that morning. One thing is certain: the truck more than 40 tons should never have borrowed the work limited to 19 tons.
But was the bridge sufficiently well maintained? Back then, Gendarmerie General Jacques Plays had indicated that work had been “carried out by the Departmental Council on the bridge, a few days before” the tragedy. The site consisted of reinforcing “upstream devices”, on “anchor cables located on either side of the bridge, which were not impacted” by the collapse. The soldier had added that the work integrated into 1931 was “perfectly regular in its maintenance”.
The maintenance of bridges is a major subject for the State and local authorities. In 2018, one before the Mirepoix disaster, a study commissioned by the Ministry of Transport warned about the state of engineering structures in the country. Of the 12,000 bridges in the country, 840 (or 7%) were in danger of collapsing in the coming years.
Reconstruction of the Mirepoix bridge: where are we?
Contacted by Actu Toulouse, the Department of Haute-Garonne indicates that two public consultations took place, on November 23 (in Mirepoix) and December 13, 2021 (in Bessières) to deal with the bridge reconstruction project.
“Five scenarios were presented for budgets ranging from 8 to 15 million euros (two road bridges, one cable-stayed, one suspended, one arched)”, explains the Departmental Council which adds that the final overall budget to rebuild the work “is not yet stabilized”.
“No dangerous bridges”, assures the Department
What about in 2022, in Haute-Garonne? Solicited by Toulouse newsthe Departmental Council reassures from the outset about the state of the 1,840 structures at his own expense : “There are no dangerous bridges in the departement. If there were, they would be closed to traffic”. It does not remain less attentive.
To decelerate any anomalies, checks are carried out regularly. CEREMA (a specialized center of expertise under the supervision of the Minister for Solidarity Ecological Transition) carries out a detailed inspection every three, six or nine years. It is according to the state and the dilapidation of the work. “River supports are also checked by divers every three, six or nine years,” explains the community. But that’s not all :
“The bridges are also subject to regular inspection by the services of the Departmental Council (team of 11 agents specialized in bridges), according to the IQOA methodology implemented by CEREMA, every 3 years for the most important, every 4 years for the others, and every year for the more sensitive bridges.
Each year, the Departmental Council devotes five million euros maintenance of its bridges.
Several projects in progress
Several structures managed by the Department will undergo (or already undergo) maintenance work at the end of 2022.
This is particularly the case at Mauzac, south of Toulouse. The bridge that crosses the Garonne has experienced, since the summer, a repair site reinforced concrete and masonry. Consequences for motorists? Alternating traffic has been put in place and vehicles over 7.5 tonnes can no longer use it. These works, revealed to one million Eurosare due to end in January 2023.
October (and for six months), work has since also started on three suspension bridges located in the south of the department: at Mazères sur Salat (Bridge over the Salat, RD52) and two others at Roquefort-sur-Garonne (Bridge over the Salat, RD13E / Bridge over the Garonne at Fourc, RD13). “Closures on structures will be carried out during the works”, warns the Departmental Council. The cost ? About 1.3 million euros.
Operations are also in progress on a road hopper of the RD12 in low wall. The works started in October should last four months and cost one million Euros.
A Lacroix Falgarde, the iron bridge will be rehabilitated. At the end of November, the “demolition of the vaults (element that supports the deck, editor’s note)” will start at a cost of €170,000.
Finally, the Department will start work on the RD5 in Rieucaze. A retaining wall will be rebuilt. “The operation is set up as part of training in ancestral techniques of dry stone construction which responds to the environmental and economic challenges of the modern world”, specifies the community. The price has not been disclosed.
The Gagnac bridge soon to be consolidated and widened
Closer to Toulouse, the Gagnac-sur-Garonne bridge is worried about the good number of motorists in front of the borrower every morning.
“This bridge was created in 1964 to support 6,000 vehicles per day. Today it is totally saturated with more than 20,000 daily vehicles including 800 heavy goods vehicles”, warned last year on Toulouse newsthe deputy (LREM, today Renaissance) Jean-François Portarrieu.
This 181 meter long structure is one of the most heavily trained in the Toulouse conurbation. In order to assure him a “long life”, Toulouse Metropolis will proceed to heavy work. Fr 2024, it will be closed for several months. In addition to sealing and consolidating it, the work will make it possible to widen the bridge to create a path for bicycles and pedestrians. A project to four million euros.
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