Storm Alex: in the Tende sector, no land link for at least two months

Storm Alex spared nothing.

Neither roads nor railroads.

Three days after the torrential rains which ravaged the Nice hinterland, the observation is severe: the 4,000 inhabitants who are divided between the municipality of Tende in the Alpes-Maritimes - 2,000 residents - and the other small surrounding villages will not be connected to the rest of the territory by land for several months.

"The 30 km of roads to Tende are out of service, the damage is considerable," alarmed Philippe Tabarot, vice-president for Transport of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region and new senator LR.

The Tende road tunnel which links France to Italy has been severely impacted on both sides.

It will take months and months of work to restore everything ”.

The salvation of the 4000 inhabitants will therefore come first from the rail.

Clinging to the mountains, the 27 km of railroads that connect Breil-sur-Roya to Tende have suffered, but not as much as the road.

"We think that there are for two months of work, but that remains an estimate, tempers Jean-Aimé Mougenot, regional director TER.

There are four major blockages, with landslides or landslides over 150 m to 300 m, but also rock slides.

In places the streams have overflowed onto the tracks and water has flowed through the tunnels so there is mud.

"

Almost 200 million euros of works

The “train of Wonders” as it is nicknamed, since it serves the valley of the same name, known worldwide for its tens of thousands of protohistoric rock carvings, was abused but it held.

Until Friday, and the arrival of the storm Alex, the line saw 14 trains per day operated by SNCF and TrenItalia.

"It is an emblematic railway line since it is the one with the highest density of engineering structures," explains Jean-Aimé Mougenot.

Each of them will have to be checked.

And in particular the bridge piers.

Perhaps some will have to be reinforced ”.

As of Saturday, the SNCF had dispatched two technicians to the valley who, with a helicopter from the gendarmerie, were able to fly over this railway line inaugurated almost a century ago, on October 30, 1928. A first location partly reassuring.

"Since the road is out of order, we know that there is a strong expectation for the train to leave very quickly," recognizes Jean-Aimé Mougenot.

The works have started.

A race against time has begun ”.

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How much will this work cost, carried out in a difficult environment, on the mountainside?

"Several million euros," said SNCF, without further details.

The claims assessment firm Saretec estimates the amount of damage at 315 million euros, including 185 million euros for road infrastructure and bridges.

Two helicopter rotations scheduled per day

In terms of infrastructure, the only good news came from the rail line between Nice and Breil.

From Saturday, traffic gradually resumed.

A first emergency train, with 3000 bottles of water on board, headed for the Roya valley to supply the inhabitants with drinking water.

Until further notice, traffic on this portion of the line is free.

“Between Breil and Tende, we hope to open up, initially, the Fontan sector, where there is a station,” says Philippe Tabarot.

This will allow three villages to be reached ”.

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VIDEO.

Storm Alex: "Within a few centimeters, I fell with the road"

In addition, from this Tuesday, October 6, the South region is launching an air link between Nice, Breil and Tende.

“Two helicopters with six to eight seats will perform two rotations per day, details the regional adviser.

One in the morning and one in the evening.

It will be reserved for people who really need to travel.

Especially for a medical appointment.

"