Ten months after the floods in Pas-de-Calais, the page has still not been turned for the victims, often still in the middle of work, but also for the communities that continue to repair the damage. And the costs are expected to be colossal.
Just to rebuild the departmental roads, the envelope initially estimated at 50 million has finally increased by 70% and would reach, according to the latest estimate from the Department in mid-September, 85 million eurosthe equivalent of two years of maintenance on the entire Pas-de-Calais road network.
Subsidence of roads, collapse of embankments…
Today, 250 projects remain to be completedon the 400 sites identified. These mainly involve roadway uprooting, embankment or bridge collapses, especially in Audomarois, Montreuillois, Boulonnais or Calaisis.
Things are happening little by little: the bulldozers are working at the moment on around forty construction sites. In Boulogne, for example, the RD251, in Hardinghen, will be closed on Friday to resurface the road. This project alone is estimated at 13,000 euros.
At least three years of work
But all this will take time: three years, at least, estimates the Department. Because it is not only necessary to rebuild, but rebuild properlyand the studies are long.
“These studies are necessary to implement a reconstruction that is as resilient as possible to these phenomena which risk recurring in the coming years”, the authorities specify, citing the example of the Cormont bridgenear Montreuil, weakened by the flooding of the Dordonne and destroyed in February.
Only, The more time passes, the more certain works deteriorate. “Some heavy rains this summer may have worsened situations that were not too worrying until now,” we admit to the Department.
The envelope of 85 million euros could therefore still increase, but the Department is counting on the State’s promise to cover 70% of the cost of the work. For the moment, the money has not yet arrived, the files are still being processed.
A “big effort” also for the municipalities
The work does not stop at departmental roads: municipal roads must also be taken into account. In Saint-Etienne-Au-Mont, a town martyred by the floods of last Novemberthe first works began at the end of August in the streets of the Cité de l’Avenir and will last three months.
“So far, it’s been a patchwork.“, rejoices Valère, happy to finally see the cracks disappear. In front of his house, construction machinery goes back and forth, tear off the tar to put everything back together.
In this father’s house, the water rose to 90 cm ten months ago.The road was damaged because of the water, and because the firefighters also damaged it. They had no choice because they came by boat to save people. But that’s not what’s going to prevent the floods.“, regrets Valère, who is especially expecting structural work on the Liane.
Alice Marot
All the houses in the neighborhood were still able to have a diagnosis made for the installation of anti-flooding devices, such as cofferdams. The work also takes into account possible future rises in water levels : “A solution had to be found to ensure that the crawl spaces were ventilated, without water being able to enter when there was a flood.“, explains Joël Farrands, the first deputy in charge of the work.
But this does not reassure everyone. Some residents of the neighborhood have preferred to move. A house, too damaged and bought by the State as part of the Barnier fund, will also soon be demolished. These road works are therefore also very symbolic“to show that these are neighborhoods that need to be revived, it is an important step for the reconstruction of the neighborhood and the reconstruction of the people, to regain confidence“, hopes Mayor Brigitte Passebosc.
Like the residents, she is now waiting for the start of major works on the Liane. In the commune of Saint-Etienne-au-Mont, the road works will cost a total of around 700,000 eurosof which 150,000 are supported by the municipality and the rest by the State and the Department.
Related News :