Toulouse. On this old track, the bitumen is blown up to create a park of several hectares

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It is a project which must be completely completed in 2026, but the construction site is already contributing to radically changing the face of a neighborhood. In Toulouse, the Giants Runway park project is in an active phase of work in December 2024, at the old Montaudran aerodrome runway.

In two years, a linear park 1.2 kilometers long and 4.5 hectares will see the light of day, in the area where the pioneers of Aéropostale took off their planes at the beginning of the last century.

The track is “uncrusted”

A project – supported by Toulouse Métropole with the developer Oppidea – which notably began with the “stripping” of the track: the machines removed the coating which covered it to find the sandy-loamy soils of the site. In total, 28,000 m² of track surface will be demolished and floors dewatered.

The work is taking place in several phases, as Emilion Esnault, district mayor, explains to Toulouse News.

“We started in the middle, before tackling the end of the track which is located in front of the UGC cinema. The objective was to carry out the work in front of the businesses outside of summer, to let them use their terraces. »

The tarmac has almost disappeared

The part located to the south of the runway, up to building B612, has also been cleared. So much so that there is nothing or almost nothing left of the tarmac, the first version of which was covered with asphalt, which saw the light of day in the 1930s.

This “stripping” project precedes planting operations on the site. “They must begin in January 2025, between Place Marcel Bouilloux-Lafont and the Payssat tremie,” explains Emilion Esnault.

Plantations, picnic tables, sliding courses

These plantations will allow the establishment gradual revegetationwith flowerbeds mixing lawn, perennial plants, shrubs and trees of several sizes, on the portion between the UGC cinema and avenue de l'aérodrome de Montaudran. Picnic areas and pétanque courts will also be created there.

In the center of the future park, this will be the “Bosquets” part. The curious who recently strolled near the site were able to discover that some developments had already started there, such as the installation of the future sliding course, 70 meters long. A play area must also be installed there. Here, a dense vegetated space must be created.

Planting in the south in 2026

The southern part of the site, up to building B612, will be permanently planted in winter 2026. In the meantime, grasses will grow there and will serve as activation seedlings: they will be mowed and crushed on site, to enrich the soil.

This is also one of the major challenges of this future park. The ground, covered with bitumen since the 1930s, has been considerably depleted. It is therefore necessary replenish rich soilcapable of accommodating plant diversity and retaining water, in order to ensure the sustainability of the park.

Experiments will be carried out on site, particularly on the biochara charcoal of plant origin which should allow carbon to be stored and promote plant growth. Land from construction carried out in recent years around the site (Halle de la Machine construction site or housing construction in the Saint-Exupéry district) and which has been preserved along the track will also be reused.

1639 trees planted

“In total, 1,639 trees will be planted in this park and more than 10,000 shrubs and small shrubs,” says Emilion Esnault. There are 22,000 m² of planted spaces planned for this project. »

The more northern part of this future park should be accessible from this spring 2025. In total, Toulouse metropolis and Oppidea must devote 8.5 million euros for the development of this park and surrounding areas (pedestrian and cycle traffic for example, notably via part of the REV11, which will pass along this park).

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