A19 motorway

Declared a public utility in 1998, the A19 was categorised as an important project by the Comité interministériel d’aménagement du territoire (CIADT Interdepartmental Planning and Territorial Development Committee). The construction of this motorway was a priority. The section linking Artenay and Courtenay today allows transit traffic to bypass Greater Paris and provides an east-west crossing route. This motorway involved 11 million cubic metres of excavation along 101 km with no less than 102 artworks, 70,000 m3 of concrete, 7,500 tonnes of passive reinforcement, 4,000 tonnes of metal framework and 1.2 million tonnes of bitumen. Arcour, a subsidiary of VINCI Concessions, took charge of operating the concession (for a period of 65 years).

BACKGROUND

Local politicians and economic actors were looking forward to this road infrastructure to fulfil safety and development objectives.
The project was born out a desire to open up the area and boost the economic attractiveness of the Loire and Centre regions. It was to be part of the new generation of more socially responsible and eco-conscious motorways which are safer for those who take them and those whose task is to maintain them, and friendlier for territories that they run through and users who drive through them.

TECHNICAL OVERVIEW

The route of the A19 passed over two major groundwater aquifers: the Beauce aquifer in the west and the chalk aquifer in the east. In addition, the motorway also had to cross several waterbodies (such as the Nant, the northern Laye, the Renoir, the Clairis, etc.).
Special attention was paid to noise pollution. Studies were conducted by the Laboratoire Régional des Ponts et Chaussées de Blois. Calculations were based on traffic projections for the year 2030.
The 101 km Artenay–Courtenay section passes through 45 communes. This dual carriageway with hard shoulder markings has 5 local network interchanges and 3 motorway junctions.
The project also includes a major viaduct spanning the Loing valley between Cepoy and Fontenay-sur-Loing. Given its size, this large viaduct is in some ways the jewel of the new motorway: 1,008 m long and 20 m wide, 6.5 to 15 m high below the road, sixteen 50 to 60-m spans supported on seventeen double piers. This giant structure is composed of 2,200 tonnes of steel and 11,000 m3 of concrete. A metallic structure has also been installed on top of the piers to support the superstructure and concrete slab of the bridge.
The opening of the A19 marked the completion of one of the largest motorway projects in France. It mobilised a total of 8,000 people for 4 million hours of work.

Finished in record time (hardly four years between the signing of the concession contract and the opening of the motorway), this project highlighted the solidity and efficiency of VINCI’s signature design-build concession model.

IMPACT

At the national level, the new highway allows traffic to circumvent Greater Paris, thereby completing the major bypass south of the city and offering another throughway to facilitate east-west traffic. At the regional level, the A19 offers an alternative to the RN 60, which was heavily used. At the local level, the A19 helps make neighbouring territories dynamic and is an economic asset for the Loiret region, which it places at the heart of a European road network.
Studies helped assess the future impact of the A19 on noise pollution, water resources, wildlife, vegetation and the landscape and define appropriate protective measures. It was shown that the project had minimal impact on wildlife and vegetation.
This infrastructure is exemplary in terms of sustainable development (high performance in respecting water resources and biodiversity), safety (continuous hard shoulder markings to boost the safety of operators) and user-friendliness (eco-designed lay-bys and service areas).
The Artenay-Courtenay A19 was built to receive between 8,000 and 9,000 vehicles per day on average and heavy goods vehicles account for 20% of these.

Project participants

Client
Arcour

Project management
Socaly

Key figures

Implementation dates
April 2005 to June 2009

Loing viaduct
Length: 1,009 m
Width: 20 m

Dual carriageway
Piers: 17 double
Spans: 16, each between 50 and 60 m
Steel: 2,200 t
Concrete: 11,000 m3

More information

www.lemoniteur.fr/Impact écologique réduit pour l’A19