Limoges: the A20 reopened to traffic to the great relief of its inhabitants

The A20 motorway, which had been cut off in both directions for two weeks following a construction incident near Limoges, causing major traffic jams during its crossing, reopened on Tuesday evening July 5 to traffic, announced the prefecture of Haute-Vienne.

“The decision has been made to reopen the highway this evening at 6:00 p.m.

We are going to allow motorists to access the A20 again with a gradual increase in load.

From 9 p.m., all the routes will be accessible,” the prefect of Haute-Vienne Fabienne Balussou told the press.

During the night of June 21 to 22, during the installation of a footbridge spanning the motorway, a jack serving as a support when launching the deck fell to the ground, destabilizing the 700-ton structure.

This “had been slightly deformed”, according to the company SCE, project owner for Limoges Métropole.

Read alsoThe A7 motorway reopens after the accident of a heavy goods vehicle transporting hazardous materials

In order to secure the premises, the axis “borrowed by 70,000 vehicles every day”, according to the prefecture, had been immediately closed.

Expertise had been urgently requested from Cerema (Centre for studies and expertise on risks, the environment and mobility).

For two weeks, the Limougeauds had to live to the rhythm, unusual for the porcelain city, of traffic jams on the outskirts of the city.

And the announcement of its reopening is therefore a real relief for individuals and professionals.

“The A20 reopens?

It's never too late!” reacted Sébastien, manager of a company specializing in heating and air conditioning.

“I had a client to see in the northern zone while my business is in the southern zone.

But spending an hour on the road for a manipulation that lasts 5 minutes, it

Read alsoHaut-Rhin: after an accident, rush on coffee pods fallen on the highway

Locally, the closure of the A20 has had an impact on the city's economy.

“We lost 60,000 euros in turnover in one week.

The closure took place during the first week of the sales,” lamented Sébastien Pons, manager of the Intersport store in the north of the city.

As the big departures on vacation approached, the State feared a nightmarish weekend, July 9 and 10 and had invited, from Friday evening, the Julyists to bypass Limousin.

The prefecture announced that Cerema had lifted all reservations about the stability of the structure.

The footbridge remains however placed “under surveillance”, notes the prefecture in a press release “with a periodic visual check every 15 days”.