It is a “sea serpent”. The A147 motorway, which would link Limoges to Poitiers, has been the subject of public consultation since the beginning of January 2022. Organized by the State, this consultation aims to study two projects: that of a toll motorway which would link Poitiers to Limoges in 53 minutes from 2030, or a 2×2 lane project which would allow the creation of 73 kilometers of new routes for an estimated time of 1h20 between the two cities.
But…but there is a “but”. Some mayors do not seem enthusiastic about the proposed motorway concession. If this is already the case for the mayor of Poitiers Léonore Moncond’huy, it is also the case for several mayors in the north of the Haute-Vienne department. “What are we trying to do” asks Bruno Schira, mayor of Dorat. He provides an answer: “I think the first objective is to open up our territory, which is not abandoned by the Republic, but neglected, that’s for sure” emphasizes the first city councilor who reaffirms the need for a Limoges-Poitiers link to develop strong and economic ties there. But, to hear it, not sure that the highway can do it.
A paying axis and with a big question mark on the environmental footprint
The layout as it is presented does not convince Bruno Schira. “We have a North-South connection through the A20. This axis, motorway or 2×2 lanes, should be connected to this axis rather than with the RN520, already overloaded and for which there is no budget for the double”. Same thing on the Poitiers side. However, what the mayor of Dorat deplores is the presentation of two routes over which elected officials and citizens have no direct control. “You have the choice, without really having it” he breathes.
“Here, we won’t take the motorway to go to Limoges. People won’t have the means”. The mayor of Peyrat-de-Bellac is almost categorical. For Patricia Marcoux-Lestieux, the axis is not free, the inhabitants of her commune will not be able to afford it, even if it means switching back to alternate routes. The file is, according to her,very poor and full of uncertainties”, and she asks the State to review her copy. “Especially since, having attended one of the workshops dedicated to the environment, I was surprised by the weakness of the file presented: very few figures were presented to us to know how we are going to compensate for 800 hectares of land take. , including 130 hectares of wetlands destroyed.”
Towards the return of trucks to the center of Bellac?
Another mayor to have a motion passed by his municipal council is Claude Peyronnet. The mayor of Bellac considers, like the mayor of Poitiers, that this project is not serious. “J‘ve discovered by reading the documents that the motorway would take the deviation of Bellac, currently 1×1 lanes. Do you seriously think this 1×1 lane is really called a highway? underlines the first city councilor of Bellac, faced with this project of A147 described as “UFO”. For him, it will necessarily be necessary to organize a non-paying route (because the motorway is conceded), and this will necessarily pass through his municipality. As it stands, he, like his colleagues, therefore prefers at least the 2×2 lane project, or even an alternative project. “I am addressing the 39 mayors of the community of Haut-Limousin en Marche” closes Bruno Schira, mayor of Dorat. “Let’s take this opportunity head-on to carry loud and clear the economic development of this neglected territory of Haute-Vienne.”
The consultation takes place until March 20. A next public meeting will take place on March 2 in Couzeix, before an assembly of the closing territories scheduled for Peyrat de Bellac on March 10. A mobile debate will take place this Saturday, February 26 in Bellac.
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