CIt’s no secret that many roads in Bergeracois (Dordogne) are in poor condition. Especially after record rainfall recorded since this fall. Precipitation of which the storm of Sunday May 5 was the high point, with downpours and hail. That day, nearly 90 mm fell in a few hours in the Pomport and Mouleydier sectors.
Faced with the urgency of renovating the roads, the Bergerac urban community (CAB) released around 4.7 million euros, including 300,000 euros just for the damage of May 5. If we remove Bergerac, 2.43 million euros will be devoted to small towns this year. An envelope “significantly higher than last year”, insists the president of the CAB, Frédéric Delmarès. Almost double the 2023 campaign.
70 routes affected
The work campaign, which concerns around 70 tracks throughout the city, must be completed after the summer. “We will do our best until the August holidays and I hope that 95% of the work will be completed by November 1,” specifies Christophe Gauthier, vice-president of the CAB in charge of roads.
Thomas Jonckeau
In Creysse, the ETR company is resurfacing the Combe Suber road, which connects the D 660 to the Sainte-Alvère road (D 32). A cold-cast coating will cover the tread.
The partial or complete repair of the roadway is systematically accompanied by the cleaning of the ditches, to allow the water to drain efficiently, and by “clearing”. This operation removes excess soil and grass from the shoulder so that water from the road easily flows into the ditch.
So many operations that make it possible to keep the roads in good condition for longer. “Rain and humidity are the enemies of the road,” we explain to the CAB. On May 5, precipitation dug huge holes thirty centimeters deep in just a few minutes. »
In any case, with such amounts of water, no one is fooled, “when it falls 90 mm in two hours, we can do what we want, it overflows,” summarizes Christophe Gauthier.
Coated or two-layer
With approximately 1,000 km of roads in the 38 municipalities of the conurbation, road maintenance is organized according to a multi-year program. “We do not manage things by municipality,” insists President Frédéric Delmarès, to put an end to the accusations of favoritism that some would like to address to him.
And obviously, the nature of the work is adapted to the needs. Monday June 17, in Saint-Laurent-des-Vignes, the ABTP Biard company resurfaced the Impasse des Joncs with a two-layer coating, which should last around ten years on this little-used road.
At the same time, in Creysse, machines from the ETR company were busy rebuilding the Combe Suber road. A much busier road, which connects the D 660 to the Sainte-Alvère road (D 32). There, after reprofiling, it is a cold-poured coating which must be laid over more than a kilometer. Everything should be done before the end of July. If all goes well, it should run for twenty years. A little too well, perhaps: “I already have a petition from local residents who are afraid that the cars are going too fast,” slips Frédéric Delmarès.
