In Les Combes, a small village of just a few houses, belonging to the commune of Bournoncle-Saint-Pierre, the route of the new RN 102 is experienced as a blessing.
Annibal Serrano assures him: “There is already a lot less traffic.” To make this observation, the man in his fifties did not even need to move. All he had to do was take a look from one of the windows of his house, located less than five meters to the east of the now old RN 102.
Highly anticipated, this Haute-Loire expressway is finally open to traffic
Obviously, Annibal Serrano is delighted with the distance from this expressway, but “not because of the noise”. It must be said that before landing in Les Combes in 2019, this handler lived next to Estaing hospital, in Clermont-Ferrand. So the noise of ambulances and helicopters has long been his daily life. “In fact, what bothered me the most was the trucks. The house shook each time they passed and there were a lot of them,” assures Annibal Serrano, while pointing to the broken tiles at the entrance due to the vibrations caused by heavy goods vehicles. However, he would like to point out that he bought this property in any case “because it was not very expensive and I knew that I would be more peaceful with the opening of the diversion”.
Annibal Serrano will now be able to have more peaceful fun with his Husky.
For Enzo Chazelle and his partner Hanae, located on the other side of the road, the noise was not a problem either. Until then, the ordeal was mainly getting in and out of the house by car. “During rush hour, we could wait up to 15 minutes before being able to cross?! It was frustrating because Brioude is right next door,” confides the young couple.
One problem replaces another
If overall, the inhabitants of Combes are delighted with the opening of the RN 102 deviation, one man is not completely convinced: Aurelio Pinheiral, whose house is now located between the two roads: “Unless 100 meters from one to the other.” So he means “vehicles from both sides, especially big trucks.” And that's not his only concern. He doesn't understand the absence of fencing along the expressway to prevent animals from crossing it: “There are going to be tragedies, that's for sure if they don't change something.”
Aurelio Pinheiral, resident of Les Combes, now has a view of the new RN102.
But make no mistake, Aurelio Pinheiral is not the type to complain. “I am still happy that this road is seeing the light of day. It will help limit traffic on the Arvant road and therefore the risk of accidents,” says the man who has seen several over the past 28 years. And as for the noise, he already has a solution anyway: “I’m going to grow my hedges?!”
Timothé Soulié
