2023-08-11 14:33:00
The level crossing between rue Sodar and rue de Philippeville was completely destroyed during a terrible storm on July 24, 2021 at the end of the day. Cars carried away by a veritable torrent had piled up at this precise spot. This had demolished the barriers, the tracks, but also the entire electronic system.
Logically, Infrabel, the railway infrastructure manager, has not embarked on a reconstruction project for this level crossing, its policy being to remove as many as possible. That’s how the one on Sodar Street disappeared. But as we are in the heart of the city, we had to find alternative mobility solutions: a pedestrian tunnel under the tracks was built, it has been operational since this Friday, the date of its inauguration, following 10 months of work which cost 800,000 euros. The work is 12 meters long and 3 meters wide, for a height of 2.25 meters.
Inaugurated by a nonagenarian
The first to use the underpass, symbolically: Pierrette Fauquet, a resident of rue de Philippeville, accompanied by her son Jacques Hermant. The lady will be 91 in the fall, she opened the new route to applause, helped by the mayor Thierry Bodlet. Her presence is doubly symbolic, because the grandmother of the nonagenarian had perished in 1950 on the level crossing she was crossing, in the fog and being a little deaf. The inauguration, therefore, was quite special, in the presence of some local residents, very satisfied with this new infrastructure.
The major project is far from over
The construction site around the nearby Dinant station is not yet finished. In the next few days, the temporary footbridge which made it possible to cross the tracks will be dismantled. Then we will redo the coating damaged during the work, on both sides of the railway tracks, rue Sodar and rue de Philippeville. Completion.
The sequel promises to be much more spectacular: at the station, we will build a footbridge allowing you to pass from one track to another, it will be equipped with elevators. This same footbridge will make it possible to reach Charreau de Bonsecours from the station. This will be a big step forward for mobility. Because this road leads to Notre-Dame de Bellevue college. The budget for this project amounts to two million euros, its completion is scheduled for autumn 2024.
The idea is to relieve the streets of Philippeville and Bonsecours of “school” traffic at the beginning and end of the day. By persuading parents who bring their kids by car to drop them off at the station rather than clogging roads that are more than ever unsuitable. Nothing has yet been decided, but the road arrangements will be made in this spirit, explains the mayor Thierry Bodlet.
It would indeed be very unfortunate if the connection between the station and the access road to the school, carried out at great expense, is shunned and does not solve a problem of congestion already present before the disappearance of the level crossing.
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