[France - Reunion] Motorway in the sea

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c2R
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[France - Reunion] Motorway in the sea

Post by c2R »

The French are replacing their existing north coast motorway on the island of Reunion with a new road built in the sea. The existing motorway along the coast has problems with rockfalls and a poor alignment/safety record.

https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=14/-20.8989/55.3876


https://nouvelleroutedulittoral.re/suiv ... gp=english
https://web.archive.org/web/20210301063 ... gp=english

It kind of puts the UK's ambitions well in the shade - this sort of project was considered to access the port at Hull, for example and was mocked as being too expensive and unrealistic.
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Re: [France - Reunion] Motorway in the sea

Post by WHBM »

c2R wrote: Sun Feb 13, 2022 07:49

It kind of puts the UK's ambitions well in the shade - this sort of project was considered to access the port at Hull, for example and was mocked as being too expensive and unrealistic.
Here's Mississippi (the poorest state in the USA) Highway 619, an S2W, built in a big arc out over the sea just to avoid a military base. And yes, I do notice the ability of other countries to somehow produce straightforwardly road solutions that so-called consultants in the UK say are impossible.

https://www.google.com/maps/@30.3496603 ... a=!3m1!1e3

There was of course a proposal for the M12 from London to the onetime proposed airport at Foulness to run on a viaduct over the sea just offshore from the Southend seafront.
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Re: [France - Reunion] Motorway in the sea

Post by Vierwielen »

WHBM wrote: Sun Feb 13, 2022 12:43
c2R wrote: Sun Feb 13, 2022 07:49

It kind of puts the UK's ambitions well in the shade - this sort of project was considered to access the port at Hull, for example and was mocked as being too expensive and unrealistic.
Here's Mississippi (the poorest state in the USA) Highway 619, an S2W, built in a big arc out over the sea just to avoid a military base. And yes, I do notice the ability of other countries to somehow produce straightforwardly road solutions that so-called consultants in the UK say are impossible.

https://www.google.com/maps/@30.3496603 ... a=!3m1!1e3

There was of course a proposal for the M12 from London to the onetime proposed airport at Foulness to run on a viaduct over the sea just offshore from the Southend seafront.
One needs to ask why the UK consultants said that any construction work is impossible. Sometimes there is a physical impossibility (eg unstable geological conditions), sometimes there are cost, time or other constraints and sometimes the consultant was unable to think outside the box. A software engineer once told me that a software project could be built quickly, it could be built to a low budget or it could be built reliably, in fact two of these three criteria could apply, but never all three. The same goes for any design work.
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Re: [France - Reunion] Motorway in the sea

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WHBM wrote: Sun Feb 13, 2022 12:43 There was of course a proposal for the M12 from London to the onetime proposed airport at Foulness to run on a viaduct over the sea just offshore from the Southend seafront.
*cough* M13 *cough*
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Re: [France - Reunion] Motorway in the sea

Post by WHBM »

Vierwielen wrote: Sun Feb 13, 2022 13:26 One needs to ask why the UK consultants said that any construction work is impossible
Generally for commercial reasons. If they say they can't think of a solution, or they don't have that sort of knowledge, it risks the client going off to another consultancy, always something to be avoided at all costs. Say publicly that it's "impossible", and the client's board will ask why, if it's impossible, have the team wasted time and money going to a second consultancy.
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Re: [France - Reunion] Motorway in the sea

Post by Bryn666 »

The route in Reunion is a classic French sledgehammer to crack a nut fix - but it is also mainland France demonstrating it still cares about the Metropolitan departments overseas. This is probably the stuff Boris Johnson wishes he had the competence to think up.

Nothing is impossible in engineering, it's just increasing magnitudes of expense and this country refuses to spend money on infrastructure.
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Re: [France - Reunion] Motorway in the sea

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Vierwielen wrote: Sun Feb 13, 2022 13:26 One needs o ask why the UK consultants said that any construction work is impossible. Sometimes there is a physical impossibility (eg unstable geological conditions), sometimes there are cost, time or other constraints and sometimes the consultant was unable to think outside the box. A software engineer once told me that a software project could be built quickly, it could be built to a low budget or it could be built reliably, in fact two of these three criteria could apply, but never all three. The same goes for any design work.
Well in the case of Thames Estuary there are some significant hazards including shipping, a section of wrecked Mulberry Harbour. and the explosives packed wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery. Then there the problems of building an airport in an area with a large population of migratory birds. As we saw in New York a few years ago hitting flock of large birds can get very nasty. Oh and the site was in an area protected by an EU Habitats directive

There was as I recall the problem of the LNG import and storage facility on the Isle of Grain, having that under the flight path was NOT considered an acceptable risk.

All of these things could be overcome but at a very high cost including almost certainly building one or more new towns to house the workforce required.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... ummary.pdf
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Re: [France - Reunion] Motorway in the sea

Post by Peter350 »

Upon reading the thread title, I was expecting this to be some sort of super-impressive undersea highway in an immersed tunnel with glass windows. Bit disappointed that this is simply another long distance bridge of the kind that has existed for decades in the States.
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Re: [France - Reunion] Motorway in the sea

Post by Owain »

Is it a motorway? It looks more like a route nationale to me!
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Re: [France - Reunion] Motorway in the sea

Post by Bryn666 »

Owain wrote: Tue Feb 22, 2022 16:22 Is it a motorway? It looks more like a route nationale to me!
It's the N1 - Réunion hasn't got any autoroutes, but it will be built to a D3M configuration as a voie express.
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Re: [France - Reunion] Motorway in the sea

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Re: [France - Reunion] Motorway in the sea

Post by Alderpoint »

Peter Freeman wrote: Sat Feb 26, 2022 13:07 It's a much bigger version of this -
And indeed https://i2-prod.dailyrecord.co.uk/incom ... 804587.jpg
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Re: [France - Reunion] Motorway in the sea

Post by orudge »

A section of the new road was featured on The Grand Tour a while ago - this page has a bit more info.
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