This is excellent news for the inhabitants of Roppe, Menoncourt and Lachapelle-sous-Rougemont. These three communes of the Territoire de Belfort are faced with a heavy traffic of trucks wanting to avoid the Fontaine toll on the A36. A decree has just been signed by the mayors and the Department. Carriers are now prohibited from using this axis, on a 12 km section, from the limit of the Haut-Rhin to Denney. Carriers now risk a fine of 90 euros. In comparison, the passage to the toll of Fontaine costs 10 euros.
control operations
So far, a thousand trucks passed through Roppe, Menoncourt and Lachapelle-sous-Rougemont every day. For 25 years, the municipalities had taken municipal decrees prohibiting the passage of these heavy goods vehicles, but the text was difficult to apply by the gendarmes. “Everytime, the control operations were very complicatedconfirms Eric Parrot, the mayor of Lachapelle-sous-Rougemont. As soon as they stopped trucks, it caused big traffic jams in the village__.”
This new decree has the advantage of taking into account a large portion of this RD83. Under these conditions, the forces of order will be able to carry out their roadside control operationson parking areas, without disturbing the circulation of other vehicles. “But the problem is far from over.in the eyes of Eric Parrot. Trucks going to the Aéroparc de Fontaine always have the possibility of taking other routes to avoid checks__.”
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Map produced by the Departmental Council of the Territory of Belfort
According to the mayor of Menoncourt, the device presents another problem. “The decree only concerns trucks over 3.5 tonnesnotes Michael Jaeger. Gold, carriers have already found the parade__. They use smaller trucks, and in the end there are even more vehicles on the road.”
Exceptions for 29 municipalities
The decree also provides important exceptions. In order not to impact economic activity, the text authorizes trucks of more than 3.5 tonnes to serve businesses in certain municipalities. “Trucks can take this axis of the RD83, if they have to unload, for example, in Rougegoutte or Giromagny”, recognizes Didier Vallverdu, the vice-president of the Departmental Council, in charge of roads. He considers that this decree concerns all the same “80% of the trucks that use the RD83 today”.
Not less than 29 municipalities are affected by this exceptional measure : Angeot, Anjoutey, Auxelles-Bas, Auxelles-Haut, Bethonvilliers, Bourg-sous-Châtelet, Denney, Eguenigue, Etueffont, Felon, Giromagny, Grosmagny, Lachapelle-sous-Rougemont, Lagrange, Lamadeleine-Val-des-Anges, Lepuix , Leval, Menoncourt, Petitefontaine, Petitmagny, Phaffans, Riervescemont, Romagny-sous-Rougement, Roppe, Rougegoutte, Rougemont-le-Château, Saint-Germain-le-Châtelet and Vescemont.
Free at the Fontaine toll?
The elected officials all agree on one point: the heart of the problem is the Fontaine toll. And you will have to be patient, its concession is planned until 2035 ! The beginning of a solution is envisaged: the company APRR (Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhône), which manages the motorways, could carry out a study of Opportunityto analyze the consequences of free access to this toll.
The request was sent, by mail, to the Minister of Transport, Clément Beaune, by the president of the Departmental Council, Florian Bouquet, the deputy Ian Boucard, the senator Cédric Perrin and the president of Grand Belfort, Damien Meslot.