Built in the 18th century by hydraulic engineer Henri Pitot, the Saint-Clément aqueduct in Montpellier (Hérault) has long transported water from the source to the city. Today, this engineering masterpiece, which has been listed as a historical monument since 1954, is no longer in service, but remains one of the star buildings of the Hérault capital. But it is getting old, and needs to be restored.
This Tuesday, the city council implemented the implementation of a major facelift, to prevent it from withering away a little more. “Some stones are threatening to fall,” said Michaël Delafosse (PS), the mayor of Montpellier. Interventions are also regularly implemented by the municipality to prevent this risk.
“The progressive deterioration of the structure”
“These works are not enough to effectively curb the increasingly rapid deterioration of the building, explains the municipality. If no structural disorder has been identified, the lack of regular maintenance for several centuries, combined with sometimes unsuitable old interventions, favors the gradual deterioration of the structure. »
The deliberation, voted on Tuesday, is “the possibility for us to request aid from the Occitanie region and the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs [l’Etat], to help us finance the protection of the aqueduct”. The emphasis should be placed, in a first phase, on the section that goes from Peyrou to the Arc-Chaptal school complex.