Eiffage S A : New eco-bridges put into service at APRR

Eco-bridges are like wildlife corridors, only twice as wide. And their role needs no further demonstration! These projects are part of an ambitious programme to build 19 eco-bridges on the APRR and AREA networks, planned between now and 2023 and representing an investment of €83.6 million for our motorway group. The first of these bridges - the two structures located on the A41 and the A43 - are currently being put into service.
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Acutely aware of environmental and safety issues, APRR and AREA already have a large network of around a hundred eco-bridges judiciously placed across our network. These large vegetated structures span the motorway, enabling wildlife to cross the roads in complete safety, and are a real extension of the surrounding ecosystem.
And with some 200 million animals fatally injured on the roads in Europe* every year, these new 25-metre wide eco-bridges are an essential infrastructure for the safety of motorway users.

Two eco-bridges in the completion phase, a third one started
All the eco-bridges in this major project have the same architectural design, as per the wishes of Philippe Nourry, CEO of Eiffage's motorway concessions.
Three eco-bridges will be built in the AREA network. The first two, on the A41 (in the Seynod sector, south of Annecy) and the A43 (near Chignin, south of Chambéry), are almost complete. They will be put into service in April or, at the latest, May 2022. The project for the third, wide eco-bridge will be started next September, near the town of Torchefelon (Isère), in the northern sector of the A48.
Philippe Dehay, Major Project Operations Manager, is in charge of this programme, the size of which is unparalleled in France. He explains: "The locations of these structures are not chosen at random. A detailed identification and analysis is carried out on the wildlife corridors and reservoirs of biodiversity, and the choices made have always been just right!
By way of illustration, he adds: "At the Porte de Savoie/Chignin eco-bridge, on the A43 in Savoy, it was observed that many animals, especially wild boars, did not wait for the eco-bridge to be completed before they started passing over to the other side of the motorway!
"It must be said", continues Philippe, "that the visual opening, much wider than the first eco-bridges, enables wildlife to quickly become used to their presence. The animals can then use these structures that have been specially built for them without any fear".

Emblematic eco-bridges in the APRR network
And the APRR network is not finished yet! Some structures are under construction in key areas. On the A36, four of the six eco-bridges have been planned for use by the lynx, a protected species and a thoroughly emblematic cat.
While on the A6, at the northern entrance to the network, the future eco-bridge will link two areas of wildlife living in the famous Fontainebleau forest.
The sixteen new APRR network eco-bridges (A6, A36 and A71) will be operational in late 2022 and early 2023.

Photo : copyright © APRR