Soon the end of the tunnel

For more than two years, the bypass road has been taking shape behind the town of Raemerich and along the A4 motorway. This 1.7km long road has major implications, as it will ease the traffic flow in an area that is congested by thousands of motorists every day.

At first, it was difficult to imagine the scale of the project, which aims to create a route to better distribute traffic towards Esch-sur-Alzette and which will also allow direct access to the Micheville tunnel (built by Félix Giorgetti from 2006 to 2010) towards France. Only two bridges (engineering structures built under previous contracts) punctuated its route.
A major 400,000m³ earthwork operation has made it possible to refine the landscape and reveal the new 1.7km long section. It was also necessary to remove an old railway track, build retaining walls, construct a roundabout and form a noise barrier to protect neighbouring homes.

A final phase with meticulous logistics that will take place in several stages, from the end of February to the end of July: the connection of the half carriageway in the Luxembourg/Esch-sur-Alzette direction, the connection to the tunnel, the connection to the half carriageway in the opposite direction, the connection to the Micheville tunnel and finally the Raemerich roundabout.

The weekend of 24-26 February saw the first stage of operations with a complete blockade of the motorway. This was time for our teams, and those of Julien Cajot for the asphalt part, to proceed to the changeover of traffic, which will be two-way for several weeks on part of the Esch-Luxembourg lane.
On the following Monday, after day and night work, traffic was able to resume and the connection work could really begin. "Julien Cajot first planed the asphalt. Then we will also remove the guardrails and lay new networks and pipes. We have to start from scratch and rebuild the entire road structure. A total of almost 5,000m³ of material will be removed. We will reuse as much of it as possible for the pavement box. For example, the Californian walls (concrete dividing walls) will be crushed.
On 18 March, a new race against the clock began with the complete closure of the Micheville tunnel. 45 days were needed to "remove the temporary access ramp, close the walls, install the metal wall structure and mix the asphalt. A dense programme for which our teams will remain fully mobilised! Motorists will be able to use the new road from June onwards and the work is expected to be completed in July.

Race against the clock

On 18 march, a new race against the clock began with the complete closure of the Micheville tunnel. 45 days to "remove the temporary access ramp, close the walls, lay the acoustic structure and do the asphalt work".

A dense programme for which our teams will remain fully mobilised! Motorists will be able to use the new road from June onwards and the work is expected to be completed in July.

As part of the connection of the A4 motorway to the tunnel, approximately 35.000m³ of material will be generated.

Rather than evacuating them, our teams have planned to recycle as much as possible and reuse them for the construction of the new road.

For example, the californian walls (dividing walls between two roads) that were dismantled will be crushed. Nothing is lost, everything is transformed.