Our impact
L2 Marseille Bypass, France
Background
The L2 Marseille Bypass Project consists of the design, construction and maintenance of a 9.5-km bypass linking the A7 motorway (north) to the A50 motorway (south). The Grantor is the French Government, represented by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition. The Project alleviates congestion in the city and supports urban development by:
(i) Linking highways and, by doing so, relieving part of the traffic which was previously going through the city centre;
(ii) Reducing travel time and air pollution in Marseille compared to 2014;
(iii) Increasing road capacity by 50%; and
(iv) Offering better traffic conditions throughout the city’s ring road.
Stage:
In Operation
ESG/SDG Key Facts
The L2 has significantly increased Marseille’s (France’s second largest city) road capacity by removing heavy traffic from the city centre and opening up large tracts of the urban area to new green space, and residential and commercial developments.
Public busses will start to use L2 in Q2 2025.
To improve the conditions of an external water treatment basin (the Frais Vallon basin), the Project Company established in Q1 2021 a partnership with a firm specialising in developing ecological treatments. The implementation of a self-sustainable ecosystem has improved water filtration by the plants and decreased maintenance costs.
The artwork painted on the concrete walls of the L2 urban motorway was initiated by the Project Company and was developed in partnership with local communities and local artists. It was a success, and it is giving strong visibility to the Project, enhancing positive opinion from the community and good press coverage in the local media. In 2022 and 2023, new artworks were painted in collaboration with a reinsertion association. SRL2 is preparing a new partnership for 2025 with different artists to create and replace some of the aging artwork.
The Project established a partnership with Heko Farm, an association to promote urban farms and the circular economy, which led in April 2018 to the creation of an urban farm called “Le Talus” on the Project’s land. In 2023,; the Project was extended to a new plot of the L2, to develop circular economic activities (bike repair, concerts, etc.).
The Project Company participates to Meridiam’s Asset Decarbonisation Initiative. This initiative aims to support assets in their decarbonisation journey by providing effective and detailed decarbonisation plans with bottom-up trajectory by asset and at the portfolio level.
SDG Achievements and Roadmap
SDG 7 (Affordable and clean energy)
The Project Company is planning to install 2500m² of PV panels (350+MWh/year, close to 7% of the L2’s electricity needs).
The Project Company installed LED lights on the access ramps and on all tunnels in Q4 2024 (except one). The Project Company will install LED lights in the remaining tunnel in Q4 2025.
SDG 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure)
The Project Company is certified ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO45001.
SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities)
Additional data captured on the number of accidents and fatalities has enabled the Project Company to improve traffic signaling on the most accident-prone sections in collaboration with the Operator and the Grantor. Four speed cameras were also installed end of 2022.
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