Gustavia: risk of road subsidence in rue Schoelcher

The Collectivité has issued a territorial decree ordering the temporary closure of a section of Rue Schoelcher between Rue des marins and Rue Samuel Fahlberg, in Gustavia. The order states that heavy rainfall on Saturday November 16 and Sunday November 17 caused a collapse under rue du père Irénée de Bruyn. "This situation constitutes a risk of subsidence of the section of rue du père Irénée de Bruyn", it is stressed.

For the duration of the road closure, traffic will flow in both directions on rue des marins and rue de la Colline. Parking is prohibited on both sides "on the aforementioned streets and street sections", stipulates the decree. Signs have been installed to prohibit access to the portion of the street concerned by the risk of subsidence.

It should be noted that, on the evening of September 10, a cave-in occurred under the rue du père Irénée de Bruyn, not far from the hospital entrance. With the risk of the roadway collapsing more than likely, the local authority decided to block access to the road. It was finally reopened on September 21. "The road needs to be made safe, but there is no major risk today", declared Xavier Lédée, President of the Collectivité, in the JSB on September 19. According to the elected official, the road was not considered a high-risk zone. "There's a construction site that's been at a standstill for a long time, so if we don't make it safe as we go along, it's bound to get damaged," he added.