A press point brought together the prefect's chief of staff, and representatives of the departmental council and the Interdepartmental Roads Directorate, in charge of departmental, national and motorway roads.
It is November, winter service is now activated on the roads of Lozère, until March. This results in increased vigilance by road services and increased resources to deal with snowy episodes that could affect the department, whose road network is mainly located between 800 and 1,000 m above sea level.
Axes classified by priority
“Our equipment and our organization are relatively well developed, built on the history of previous, much more rigorous winters.“, asks Denis Bertrand, for the departmental council. The departmental council manages 2,263 km of roads. A network “exposed to wind and snowdrifts“.
The main roads are classified N3, so must be made passable from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. This implies a wider range of intervention, with patrols from 4 a.m. At level N4, service from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. or from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekends. At level N5, snow removal is done “as soon as possible depending on the means“.
Des webcams
To meet this challenge, 27 points, including 24 technical centers, are spread across the territory. They receive reinforcements from temporary workers for the winter season.
Among the tools, useful to both agents and users, include cameras at 27 points in the department, viewable on Inforoute 48, and an IT system for agents.
24 hours a day on the highway
For its part, the Interdepartmental Roads Directorate (Dir) manages the A75 motorway, the RN106 and the RN88, with centers in Saint-Chély-d'Apcher, Antrenas, Langogne and Mende (and support points in Lanarce and Florac). Fifteen temporary workers were recruited for the season. The A75 motorway and the RN88 from the A75 to Mende are classified N1, with snow removal 24/7. The RN88 from Mende to Ardèche and the RN106 are classified N2, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and weekends.
To support the work of snow plows, the Dir has webcams relayed on Inforoute and light messages broadcast to users. “There are sometimes complicated events to manage, emphasizes Olivier Tignol, of the central Massif Dir. It is important that users find out about traffic conditions and postpone their trip if necessary.“.
Coordination
For the system to be effective, in Lozère but also in neighboring departments, “interdepartmental and interservice cooperation” is essential, underlines Malcolm Théoleyre, chief of staff of the prefect. The motorist must be aware that it is possible that decisions affecting traffic in Lozère are taken in view of the situation in another department. This is particularly true in “the chestnut triangle, between Lozère, Haute-Loire and Ardèche, the most sensitive area in terms of winter viability“.
Last winter was rather mild. The Dir used 3,600 tonnes of salt, instead of the 5,000 generally required. The Department used 3,000.”But we fear more and more that occasional and rare phenomena may arise, which could require extraordinary interventions.“, admits Denis Bertrand. For now, the system is operational.
