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“And when will the road below the fort reopen?” It doesn’t look like it will be anytime soon. The question, as posed above, was asked by Bruno Magras, honorary president of the Territorial Collectivity, to his successor at the helm of the institution since 2022, Xavier Lédée. The scene took place in the wedding hall on September 27, on the sidelines of the Senate election. Xavier Lédée replied that the matter was moving forward and that procedures were underway. Since then, nothing has really changed.
As a reminder, on November 20, 2025, several boulders—including one of the largest—broke loose from the hillside before crashing onto the roadway, just in front of the entrance to the commercial port. No one was injured in the incident.
Initially, the road known as “sous le fort”—that is, the section leading from the Public commercial and industrial zone to the entrance of Gustavia—was completely closed to traffic. It was later reopened, but only in the direction from Public to Gustavia. In late December 2025, the Geological and Mining Research Bureau (BRGM) of Guadeloupe dispatched a scientist to Saint Barth (JSB 1644). The scientist examined several sites designated as “sensitive,” including the area of the mountain range overlooking the road connecting the entrance to the commercial port with the entrance to Gustavia. The specialist drafted a report based on his findings, which he submitted to the Collectivité’s departments during the holiday season.
A Study to Supplement a Study
Based on this report, the Collectivité commissioned a geological study from a specialist. But this study was clearly inconclusive. Territorial Councilor and Chair of the Committee on Territorial Development and Modernization, Fabrice Querrard, explains: “The first geotechnical report we received was somewhat generic. So we asked a firm specializing in this type of issue to conduct a supplementary study. ” Consequently, no measures to secure the hillside—and thus prevent potential landslides onto the road—are currently planned. The road will therefore remain open to one-way traffic only. The protective barriers installed on the road, along the hillside, mark off a “safety” zone—for lack of a better solution. It remains to be seen how much longer this makeshift measure will remain in place, as rockfalls cannot be ruled out.
According to excerpts from the BRGM report released by Fabrice Querrard last January (JSB 1648), “the danger has not been ruled out” and “other areas where rockfalls could occur are visible to the naked eye.” Several cubic meters of rock could thus break away from the massif, as could “unstable boulders hidden by vegetation and located midway up the slope.” The report warns that a “sudden rupture could occur in the short term.” In addition, other “threatening boulders” have been identified on the southern slope of the massif, above the section of road leading toward Gustavia.
On January 23, in an online post on his Facebook account, Xavier Lédée wrote: “Following the BRGM report, several engineering firms were consulted, and safety work is expected to begin in the coming weeks.” Weeks and months have passed without any progress.
At the same time, other so-called “sensitive” sites were identified by the BRGM in Guadeloupe in its report. One such site is Morne Depoudré, from which rocks broke loose on September 18, 2025 (JSB 1632 and 1633), crashing onto the road and then down the slope. Once again, no measures to secure the site have been implemented so far.
