after 8 years of work and controversy, the New Coastal Road is finally open… only partially

“With all these delays we never ended up seeing the end of it», For many islanders, like Vincent, a 28-year-old from Reunion, the opening of the New Coastal Road resembled the Arlesian one. This project, a viaduct running along the sides a few tens of meters offshore, should make it possible to relieve congestion on the historic road axis, unable to absorb the constantly increasing and dangerous traffic because it is located on the side of the cliff.

This titanic project, launched in 2015 for an initial delivery date set for 2020-2021, has experienced many setbacks, additional costs and delays (perhaps not finished by the way). Nevertheless, the shipyard has just passed a decisive stage sincea section opens traffic from this Sunday, August 28 at 12 p.m. For the moment, only the first part, going from Saint-Denis to the Grande Chaloupe site, has been put into service. A portion which represents 8 km out of the total 12.5 km of this road which, in the long term, will make it possible to go to the Possession. In addition, the opening will only be in the North-West direction (from Saint-Denis towards the Grande Chaloupe). Oncoming vehicles will continue to use the old cliff side road.

This partial opening was decided by the Region after yet another delay. At issue: stone supplies. If the first section is a viaduct, the few remaining kilometers were initially to take the form of a dyke. A project strongly contested by environmentalists because of the large quantities of resources necessary for its construction and which required the construction of new quarries on the island. Challenged in court, these overtures finally been banned by the judges.

Total opening planned for 2028

Finally, the second part will therefore also be a viaduct, the cost of which is estimated at 840 million euros, financed equally by the State and the region. An additional cost for a project initially planned at 1.6 billion and which should greatly exceed two billion. This represents nearly 160 million per km, 20 to 30 times more expensive than a motorway, and ranks it among the most expensive axes in the world. An amount partly justified by the extraordinary characteristics of the site. “It is the longest work that has been done at sea, it was somewhat inevitable that difficulties would arise“, underlines a stakeholder in the design who wished to remain anonymous. In addition, “this infrastructure had to be able to cope with problems of swell, cyclonic winds and protection of the seabed“, adds our source.

While some Reunionese criticize this project for its ecological (construction on the seabed) and financial cost, its interest was undeniable. The current 2×2 lane road was having more and more difficulty absorbing the 60,000 vehicles using it every day, a constantly growing figure. In addition, its position close to sea level forced frequent closures in the event of heavy swells. But it is above all its dangerousness that was pointed out. Located on the side of a cliff, the tracks were sometimes cut off by falling rocks despite the installation of safety nets. Protections not always sufficient, as on March 24, 2006 when 30,000 cubic meters of rock killed three people.

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For the moment, Reunionese going to Saint-Denis will continue to travel on the old road on the cliff side for a month, before moving on to the sea side. However, the total closure of the old road is not for tomorrow: l The full opening of the 12.5 km of track in both directions is not expected before 2028, at best.

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