It was on the Lot, aboard the Fumel barge, that Sophie Borderie, president of the Departmental Council, Serge Rigal, her Lot counterpart, Daniel Borie and Sophie Gargowitsch, departmental councilors of the canton of Fumel, went on Thursday June 13 , at the inauguration of the ferry, which will allow passage of the Fumel dam, at the beginning of July. Arriving on the left bank, in Montayral, the participants…
It was on the Lot, aboard the Fumel barge, that Sophie Borderie, president of the Departmental Council, Serge Rigal, her Lot counterpart, Daniel Borie and Sophie Gargowitsch, departmental councilors of the canton of Fumel, went on Thursday June 13 , at the inauguration of the ferry, which will allow passage of the Fumel dam, at the beginning of July. Arriving on the left bank, in Montayral, the participants in the inauguration were able to witness, in amazement, the lifting of the boat to a height of eight meters, then its journey on a 300-meter track, towards the downstream course of the river.
After the rehabilitation, in 2020, of the Saint-Vite lock, the ferry now opens the doors to the Lot and will allow boaters to travel 130 kilometers, from Aiguillon to Luzech. The choice of this dam crossing system was chosen for its cost of around six million euros, which represents half that of a new lock.
Six million euros will have been necessary for the construction of this infrastructure.
Loïc Déquier/SOUTH WEST
” A new page “
During the speeches, after the welcome by Jean-François Ségala, mayor of Montayral, Daniel Borie then Sophie Borderie congratulated themselves on the work accomplished. “This is a historic moment that we are experiencing, because we are opening a new page in the history of the navigability of the Lot. Throughout history, navigation routes have structured human activities, organized economic life and shaped landscapes. They continue to contribute to forging the identity and pride of a territory. Even more so in our department, that of the confluence between the Garonne river and the Lot river,” declared the president.
Just like her, Daniel Borie insisted on the hoped-for economic benefits. “The ferry opens a new era for the development of tourism and the economy of our living area,” he said. And the departmental advisor insists on the infrastructure to be developed: “10,000 m² are available which will accommodate economic activities linked to tourism and navigation, and why not the creation of a dry port to ensure maintenance and ‘wintering of boats on the Lot’.
Loïc Déquier/SO
Once lifted, the boat travels approximately 300 meters before ending up on the water again.
“The strength of our department”
Sophie Borderie recalled that “boaters do not just appreciate the beauty of natural sites, they also linger in visits to castles, in restaurants or local shops, without forgetting gourmet discoveries”. We already know that requests from local private owners and those from the Canal des Deux Mers have already been made, in order to put their boats in the water on the new route.
The Fumel and Puy-l’Évêque barges will also be able to offer new products, including transhipment. Daniel Borie also welcomed the speed with which the work, which began in May 2023, was carried out, and thanked all the project partners. The president concluded: “I see in this achievement the very special relationship that we have with water. This water which is the strength of our department, which has so much to offer us but which it is essential to protect in return, particularly for agriculture.”
