Since 1928, it has not moved one iota. But next year, the monument to the glory of the combatants, which all Toulouse residents call the monument to the dead, will be moved a few meters. A necessary move as part of the construction of the François-Verdier station of the third metro line, located 45 meters deep, just below this “Arc de Triomphe”.
Initially, this new station was to emerge in the middle of the aisles. But the conservation of trees caused Tisséo to revise his plans. And the question of whether or not to remain in place during the construction of this building classified as a historic monument has emerged. Among the scenarios, that of leaving this 15-meter-high and 1,373-tonne monument in place was ruled out, because it would have required technical solutions for complex reinforcement, with the risk of settling.
“The second solution was to dismantle the monument, stone by stone. However, a diagnosis in November 2021 established that the entablature and the attic, made up of both stone and concrete, were complex structures and that it was necessary to maintain them in a single block,” explains Michaël Masaad. , in charge of this project at Tisséo Ingénierie. A third solution therefore appeared: that of moving it in one piece, on platforms with wheels.
Stored next to it then put back in its place in 2027
To achieve this technical feat, a steel and wood exoskeleton will be created around the building. “Then it will be lifted by jacks. The steps will then be removed and a platform will be slid underneath,” explains Jean-Michel Lattes, president of Tisséo Ingénierie. An unprecedented manipulation that will take place next summer, after preparatory work at the start of the year.
If moved, the monument won’t get very far. It will be placed a few meters away, on the current bypass which adjoins it, where a concrete slab will be built, after having rotated 90°. It will be stored there until 2023, before being “put back in its place to the nearest centimeter”, using the same process, in 2027. A technique already used in Germany for move a chapel 12 kmthreatened by the extension of a coal mine.