The village of Éplessier will be inaccessible for at least six weeks and several safety development works will be carried out on the RD1029 roadway from September 23.
The population of Eplessier was invited to an information meeting on Tuesday, September 10 at 6 p.m. at the village hall. The topic was the upcoming works on the main road, the RD1029. These are the continuation of the safety development works of the crossing of the village.
At the start of the meeting, Mayor Patricia Rimbault spoke to around forty residents.
“The project has been underway since 2016. It was necessary to start by removing the networks and installing traffic lights to secure the intersection between the main street, the RD1029, the rue de la mairie and the rue de l’église. This road is a departmental road, so it is subject to the opinion of the Department which is involved in it but also of the prefecture. The duration of the work, which has been under consideration since 2016, is explained by the deadlines for grant applications, the municipal budget, returns of agreement from the Department and the prefecture and numerous meetings to obtain what we want: to slow down traffic, brighten up the crossing and make it secure..”
Widening sidewalks, creating parking and green spaces in Éplessier
After this introduction, Mathieu Sellier, from the V3D design office, spoke with a detailed plan of the 300 meters affected by the work on a giant screen.
“After our work, which depends on the municipality, the sidewalks and gutters, the Department is intervening to redo the road. The roadway is currently too wide compared to the regulatory width. This dates from before the construction of the Poix bypass. There has been less traffic since this bypass. We waited until the end of the work on the bypass to start work in the village. We are going to widen the sidewalks, redo the curbs, create three parking spaces and green areas where parking will be prohibited to brighten up the village and above all protect pedestrians on the sidewalk.”
“The Highway Code prohibits parking on sidewalks“, added Patricia Rimbault.
As the network removal work has been carried out, everything that exists on the sidewalks, meters or water access points, for example, will be brought up to their level. Bus stops will also be brought up to standard: the curbs will be higher so that users with reduced mobility can access the bus more easily.
The curbs will be dismantled and a machine will pour them on site to prevent plants from growing back into the gutters. In addition, the sidewalks will be poured on site in exposed concrete. They will be beige in color and twelve centimeters thick.
Whether for borders or sidewalks, the manufacturing and drying time will be five days. It will then be impossible to walk or drive on it to enter the properties.
Each occupant of the affected houses will be notified in advance and strips will be put up to allow access to the homes.
When the curbs and sidewalks are finished, the Department will come in to resurface the road. This should take three days.
You will have to take the Poix-de-Picardie ring road
A diversion via the Poix-de-Picardie ring road is possible, and so that the works only last six weeks (in case of favorable weather), the road will be closed at the exit of Poix-de-Picardie and for the road coming from Aumale, the road will also be closed.
Only residents will be able to go to their homes and leave by the same route, but under no circumstances will they be able to cross the 300-meter zone of the works. For residents living near the work zone, it will be possible to leave in the morning and return to their homes in the evening.
Residents are asking questions
Once the presentation was over, several residents were able to question the mayor and Mathieu Sellier. Thus, for children going to school, a local resident offered to let them pass to ensure their safety. The central reservations will not bother farmers.
And the shopkeepers, including Isabelle Vermesse of Cuisine de Papet, were concerned about the six weeks of work. They decided to close their establishment.
“Customers can come on foot“, said Patricia Rimbault. On the other hand, “My clients will come if they want to come. I don’t worry” assured cheese producer Tristan Avet.
The sidewalks will be 1.40 meters wide and will be separated from the road by a green space where the vegetation will not exceed 80 centimeters in height.
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