Lafarge France (Holcim group) is undertaking the construction of a half-motorway interchange on the A55 to serve its quarry in Estaque (Bouches-du-Rhône), making it possible to improve road safety and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Lafarge quarry in l'Estaque will have better access thanks to the “Jas de Rode” half-motorway interchange. It is located on the A55 and exclusively dedicated to the quarry's heavy goods vehicles, as well as emergency services (firefighters, etc), this new facility has been enabled with the technical support of State services and the backing of the local authorities of Pennes-Mirabeau and Marseille. The half-interchange will allow trucks coming from Marseille to leave the A55 and easily reach the Estaque quarry, located less than 3km from the new facility. Once loaded with aggregates, the trucks will be able to quickly return to the A55 motorway towards Marseille.
This new route will avoid a 22km loop that trucks previously used to supply Marseille and its surroundings (320 passages per day), which will result in a 23 per cent reduction in the overall carbon footprint of the quarry and an improvement in traffic conditions in the commune of Pennes-Mirabeau, for a safer road.
Environmental benefits
The construction of the new facility will have a positive impact on soil quality and the water table thanks to better management of rainwater (channeled runoff and retention equipment), claim Lafarge. "It will also provide increased protection for the Nerthe forest massif by providing a new direct access route for emergency services, capable of intervening more quickly and on a larger scale," added a Lafarge statement.
Finally, the work incorporates specific developments in favour of biodiversity, with several passages made under the roadway to facilitate ecological continuity in the massif, the installation of approved fences around the new slip roads to protect animals from the passage of trucks, or the construction of developments for protected species such as scree slopes to shelter the ocellated lizard.
