The image may be surprising. Construction machinery that seems to be sitting on the water, in the middle of the Garonne, in Toulouse, between the Saint-Pierre bridge and the Catalans bridge. Since June, work has been underway on the Bazacle causeway, a dam that supplies the hydroelectric power station of the same name. Stopped a few days after the severe weather of August 14, they are due to resume this Monday, August 19.
Led by EDF Hydro Sud-Ouest, Hydrostadium and Buesa TMF, they aim to “perpetuate the structure and consist of repairing the damage at the base of the dam by concreting and perpetuating the sheet pile wall on the roadway (steel sheets with interlocking edges) and ensuring its durability over time”, indicates EDF Hydro Sud-Ouest.
Floating barges and push boats
To successfully complete this exceptional project, in the heart of Toulouse, the materials are transported using floating barges and pusher boats, from the port of Embouchure to the causeway, via the Brienne canal.
“A floating pontoon, a work area for handling the construction site, was transported by river and positioned near the roadway,” said the manager of the Bazacle power plant, which produces the equivalent of the annual consumption of 12,000 people. EDF Hydro Sud-Ouest also ensures that everything is in place to limit the impact on the summer activities of the people of Toulouse and organize the activities “to reduce as much as possible the nuisances and interference of the works.”
This project, which is part of the maintenance and modernization program of the manager’s 65 dams and 82 hydroelectric power stations, will continue until October.