This image taken from Google Earth shows the aerial view of the town with the layout of the new Richelieu by-pass drawn on. Although the construction works for the last stage have not started yet, one can see that the farmers involved have adjusted their fields for the alignment and easement of the new road.
Once this last sector is constructed huge 'euro-trucks' will not have to thunder into the town. At present they have to use the Avenue de Quebec; that is to say the perimeter road just outside the walls.
Maybe when the by-pass is completed, the new Mayor, Secretary-of-State Novelli, will be able to make more people park outside rather than inside the town's walls, as one would expect in a moated historic town designed originally for the horse and cart.
2 comments:
Good morning
Love your site. As lucky home owner with a small house with in the walls I was interested in the by pass as we look out on the Avenue Quebec.
However the missing piece of information seems to the date for starting the work.
Do you have an undate on that?
Cheers Christine
Nice of you to be in contact, Christine. The true answer is I do not know when the next step will be taken. The strategy as has been explained to me is roughly as follows. 1) The road system from the A10 to Loudun has been largely upgraded (with Eurofunds - and aren't the roads lovely) to allow HGV agricultural traffic. 2) The circumnavigation of the town or Richelieu has been started and has connected the 'Terry's Chocolate Orange' to the silos on the route de Chinon (to the North). 3) The easement has been agreed to connect from there with the main road from Richelieu to Loudun and that easement can be seen in the fields. 4) Once this next and last sector has been established, HGVs will no longer thunder down the Avenue de Quebec at the foot of your garden (presumably). Our new Maire 'le ministre' Novelli will no doubt continue to help this biggish civil project progress. At present there are the usual green disputes as ruffled feathers are smoothed (literally and figuratively). I don't know the date - maybe the receptionist at the Mairie might know if there has been any recent action. Going on a bit, to areas that interest me more than contemporary agricultural logistics, the completion of the rocade will allow the banning of trucks close to the walled town and the use of some of the long avenue of platanes as parking for the towns visitors rather than choking the 17C squares with general parking. This policy would be dangerous while large vehicles still use the Avenue de Quebec. Maybe then a tighter control of vehicles within the walls (how about policing the 30 kph limit for a start!). Then complete the second square to match the first - one for the king one for the cardinal. My favourite notion, once the HGV traffic is reduced is to close the Porte de Chinon to motorised vehicular traffic; horses and people only. Reconstruct the drawbridge and dig out a bit of the moat (already owned by the town). ....... and so onward...
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