Tuesday evening, we were able to see that no diversion had yet been put in place and it was only by going there that we found ourselves confronted with this situation.
That same day, it was on the FB page of the Alderwoman of Works that we could find the beginning of an explanation: “following the collapse of the road at rue de l’Yser, the Roads service had secured last week so as not to leave a gaping hole during the extended weekend, can we read in particular on the FB page of Laurence Barbaix.
Unfortunately, today by opening more widely, they have noticed that it is the evacuation of a building which is completely broken. The repair is therefore the responsibility of the OWNER of this pipe. Which will take time, since at this stage, he is not responding even though he has already been called to carry out repairs to his nozzle under the sidewalk. Pending this repair, the road is closed.”
A communication which, one can easily imagine, is certainly not likely to reassure local traders, who know from experience that this type of problem involving a private person can persist over time. As an example, we will only cite the (still) gaping hole of the lost street which has already caused a lot of ink to flow since its appearance in… 2019.
We will probably not have to wait that long for the problem of rue de l’Yser to be resolved; the mayor of Tournai told us this Thursday afternoon that discussions are underway with the “owner to resolve this situation as quickly as possible and restore traffic”.
Information confirmed by Works Alderwoman Laurence Barbaix who wanted to be reassuring late Thursday afternoon, the owner having agreed to the estimate presented to him. By the time the necessary authorizations for the work are issued – which should go very quickly – the street will be closed and this episode forgotten. “I am hopeful that everything will be resolved at the start of next week,” added Laurence Barbaix.
