Pollutants treated on site
The most complex phase is approaching: it involves the decontamination of the 17 hectares of land located between the Manom road, the Douai avenue and the railway line. The colossal construction site is about to start. Final surveys have been carried out in recent weeks, now, “we have a very detailed vision of what we will find underneath”, indicated the operations manager. “We will only find very few volatile components (so there will be no odor nuisance) but rather oils, fuel oil, heavy metals. We expect to find lead, a little cadmium, copper, mercury…” The list is dizzying and evokes the heavy industrial past of the place.
To treat this latent pollution up to several meters underground, a solution has been adopted: washing the earth and aggregates in situ. A special machine will be sent to the site: a proven system will separate pollutants from the earth. The latter can be reused on site; this is the aim of the maneuver. Such a process has the merit of avoiding the coming and going of trucks. For local residents, it’s one less nuisance.
This necessary intervention will be long: the entire year 2024 will be devoted to it. Preparations have just begun; land washing is expected from February, March.
Limit nuisance, but…
To contain nuisance as much as possible, the living center will be installed at the rear of the old administrative building, along the railway line. Access to the site will also be from this location. But it will still be necessary to shovel and also demolish the numerous concrete slabs still present as well as the old administrative building…
“Foggers will limit the presence of dust in the air”; on the other hand it will be difficult to ignore the noise generated by the machines. This point particularly worried the closest residents. Some are tensing their backs because after the time of decontamination will come that of construction. Another dizzying project: ultimately, Rive Gauche must accommodate 1,000 new housing units.
What traffic tomorrow?
Among the questions raised by local residents, that of road traffic came up several times. Adding a thousand housing units to Thionville-Est will necessarily add cars to the city center arteries and also to the Allies Bridge. “It is already difficult to cross the stop sign on Avenue De-Gaulle, in front of the pharmacy. In the future, what will you do? ”, we heard.
Pierre Cuny admits: the question is not easy to resolve. “The whole difficulty is reconciling current needs with those of the future. There is a lot of alchemy work to be done.” This is all the more true as the town hall plans to green the Square du 11-Novembre and return it to pedestrians and soft modes. The passage of the future electric bus was designed to encourage residents to take public transport or take the bike. “This city must become the city of soft modes,” insisted the mayor.
A lady asked if the new bridge currently under construction between Parc Napoléon and the bastion could be authorized for carpooling? “It’s not planned but it’s an interesting remark,” replied Pierre Cuny. The start of a new path?
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