Yesterday, at the Saint-Augustin Station in Nice, Christian Estrosi, the city’s mayor, and Lionel Dete, project manager at SNCF, presented the progress of the entire development project for the western exit of the Voie Mathis and the complete schedule of the works.
“This is the second most anticipated project after the tram by the residents of Nice,” states Christian Estrosi. This renowned exit development project has a main goal: to connect the western exit of the Voie Mathis to the entrance of the A8 via an underground tunnel to alleviate traffic congestion, which is often very dense in the area. The implementation of this development is expected to yield numerous benefits in this sector:
- Improvement of traffic conditions
- Smoother traffic flow on the Voie Mathis (9 minutes less during peak hours)
- 13,000 fewer vehicles per day on the Route de Grenoble (reduction of transit towards the A8 and the Boulevard du Mercantour)
- It will prevent intersections with the TRAM LINE 2 and surrounding developments
- Planting of 150 trees and 10,000 shrubs and the creation of over 2,500 m2 of new green spaces (liberation of areas on the Route de Grenoble)
- A significant reduction in the ecological footprint and especially in CO2 emissions.
A highly anticipated project, but still a long way to go…
It is truly a flagship project for the city that is likely to delight many during peak hours. Although far from completion, the works have indeed begun. This project will be carried out in two phases: in the first, a diversion of the 2 lanes of the northern roadway of the Voie Mathis will be constructed. These two lanes will remain on the surface along the railway tracks, then they will transition underground, beneath the station’s forecourt.
The project spans a total of 1,200 meters in length: 500 meters between the Voie Mathis and the first trench, 295 meters of covered trench, 130 meters of open trench, 160 meters of covered trench until the Nicot de Villemain intersection, then 100 meters to join the Route de Grenoble. For a total cost of 72 million euros (including taxes) (14.7 million in external funding, 8.7 million from the State, 6 million from the PACA region). The rest of the funding is not yet known.
During the second phase, there will be an extension of the open and covered trench structure, with an exit allowing joining of the Boulevard du Mercantour and an exit allowing connection to the A8 motorway. All for a total cost of 36 million euros (12 million solely for the connection structure to the A8).
