An audit by the French government has revealed that one third of the country’s 12,000 state-maintained bridges need repairs, with 840 at risk of collapsing.
The results of the investigation into France’s state-maintained bridges was published last month, ahead of a tragic incident in which a 200m section of a bridge collapsed in Genoa, Italy, on 14 August. The incident resulted in the deaths of 43 people and injured many others, and cast light on the challenges facing infrastructure in many European countries, an issue with which France had already been grappling.
The report warns that 7% of the 12,000 bridges owned and operated by the French government – around 840 – are at risk of collapse in the next few years, and recommends that many be closed for repairs, or even shut down permanently. Around one third of the bridges were found to need repairs, and the report did not take into account the thousands of privately owned and maintained bridges across France, Sky News reports.
How did the bridges end up in this state?
According to the report, which was published in the Journal du Dimanche newspaper, a lack of investment over the past few years is responsible for the deteriorating condition of France’s roads – the same concern that is thought to have contributed to the collapse of the bridge in Genoa, although investigations are still ongoing in this case.
The report highlights infrastructure spending in Austria, Switzerland and the UK as a target to which France should aim in the coming years, although it acknowledges that the country’s spending is higher than that in many southern European countries. Without an increase in spending, the audit warns that by 2037, some 62% of roads will be seriously degraded, while around 6% of bridges would be completely out of service.
President Emmanuel Macron has already indicated that infrastructure spending will be a key priority for his government, and a €1bn investment plan in restoring many of France’s roads has already been announced, the Independent reports.
