According to a press release issued by the Prefecture of Haute-Vienne, during the overnight hours between Tuesday and Wednesday, there was a “technical incident” that occurred as part of the ongoing construction of a bridge in Limoges that will span the A20 highway between the districts of La Bastide and Puy Ponchet.

The bridge will connect these two neighbourhoods. Because of this occurrence, the project management decided to “halt the site as it stands” in order to secure the structure before determining whether or not to continue working.

Because of this, the detour that was put in place overnight as part of this phase of works on the A20 highway will remain in place until it can be certified that the structure has been adequately secured.

A jack that was holding up the bridge toppled over.

Concerning the actual occurrence of the event, it took place during the jacking procedure that made it possible for the bridge to be lowered by one metre on the Puy Ponchet side. After falling to the ground at around 10:15 p.m., one of the two jacks that were situated on the Puy Ponchet side caused the structure to become unstable.

This morning, on Wednesday, the bridge appears to be leaning ever-so-slightly to one side. The engineers on the site and the services provided by Limoges Métropole are now working to diagnose the issue.

In the meanwhile, and in order to ensure the users’ safety, the A20 highway will continue to be blocked after 6 a.m. on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, and will stay closed for an undetermined amount of time.

Since diversions have been put in place for the night, it is possible that they will have a difficult time absorbing the traffic flow of several thousand cars that were recorded during the day. As a result, traffic is expected to be particularly complicated while crossing Limoges.

Until further notice, detours will continue to be in effect.

There will be detours available. Users from the surrounding area are required to exit the highway at junction number. 30 “Limoges-Nord” in the direction of Paris-Province and at interchange no. 33 “Limoges Centre” in the direction of Paris-Province.

Those who wish to avoid driving through the city, and in particular large commercial vehicles, will benefit from a wider detour that will be constructed between interchange no. 28 and exit no. 36 “la Valoine,” which will take them on the northern bypass, then the national 141, and finally Limoges’ boulevards.