Following the bad weather in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, the Somport road in the Aspe valley will not reopen for several months.
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Heavy rains, which occurred during the night of Friday 6 to Saturday 7 September, caused the collapse of the N134, the road to Le Somport which leads to Spain. Traffic is therefore cut off and the road closed, France Bleu Béarn Bigorre reported on Sunday 8 September.
“It’s a pretty impressive collapse that will lead to the road being closed for several months.”explains the chief of staff of the prefect of Pyrénées-Atlantiques to France Bleu. “From Monday, September 9, there will be assessments to assess the state of the road and the mountain and to determine how we will begin the repair work.”
In the meantime, cars can go as far as the town of Urdos while heavy goods vehicles are diverted and must take the A64 and A63 and go through Hendaye to get to Spain. For the moment, it is not possible to use the Bielsa-Aragnouet tunnel in the Hautes-Pyrénées, as the road has collapsed on the Spanish side. Traffic on the road to the Col du Pourtalet in the Ossau Valley is prohibited for trucks.
The bad weather that hit the Aspe valley also caused significant damage in the villages of Cette-Eygun, Etsaut, Borce and Urdos, with sometimes record rainfall, up to 200 millimetres measured in Urdos.
