Since the Parc des Expositions moved to Aussonne, nature is gradually regaining its rights on the Ile du Ramier, in Toulouse. Ultimately, the idea is to make these 220 hectares a real green lung for the Pink City and to transform it into a real ”
Grand Parc Garonne “.
Accessible today by the Pierre-de-Coubertin and Saint-Michel bridges, as well as by the Poudrerie footbridge, the island will be served in a few years by four new footbridges intended solely for pedestrians and cyclists.
“The island is too often invaded by vehicles. We decided to connect it to the nearest neighborhoods with four footbridges. Those of Empalot and Rapas will be carried out by 2025, the other two during the next term, ”says the mayor (LR) Jean-Luc Moudenc who has just presented the projects of the winners.
20 million euros
The Rapas footbridge will connect the island – at the level of the rotunda-shaped building of the former exhibition center – to the dyke, on the Avenue de Muret side. That of Empalot will span the Garonne opposite the Daniel-Faucher gymnasium to reach the district via rue Maria Monbiala.
The latter, 145 meters long, will have guy wires attached “to a large V-shaped pylon like two arms open to the sky as a gesture of welcome”, explains Thomas Lavigne, the architect who designed the Empalot footbridge and whose firm has already built the Normandy or Chaban-Delmas bridges in Bordeaux. Both catwalks will be lightweight and made of metal.
To achieve them, the metropolis will pay 20 million euros in total, but will benefit from state aid for cycling facilities and has made requests to Europe. If their realization should not take more than 14 months, it will be necessary to wait for the green light from the services of the State to start the work.