A long-awaited 9.5km connection between 2 existing urban highways North and South of Marseille, which acts as a bypass of the city center

Background

The L2 Marseille Bypass Project consists of the design, construction and maintenance of a 9.5km 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:

• • linking highways and, by doing so, relieving part of the traffic which was previously going through the city centre;
  • reducing both travel time and air pollution in Marseille;
  • increasing the road capacity by 50%; and
  • offering better traffic conditions to users throughout the city’s ring road.

The Project benefits from strong support of both the local population and the administration. It is a vital project for the transport connectivity and the economic and social development of Marseille. The L2 has significantly increased Marseille’s (France’s second largest city⁽¹⁾) road capacity by removing a lot of traffic from the city centre and opening up large tracts of the urban area to new green space and residential and commercial developments.

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.

(1) Source – https://www.ined.fr/en/everything_about_population/data/france/population-structure/municipalities/ 

Stage:

In Operation, completion date 14 July 2018

Learn more abour the project:

Marseille L2 Wall Murals

Opening of the inner-direction of the L2 North this morning

The exhibition “A l’échelle de la ville” at the French Ministry of Culture pays a tribute to the L2 artistic projects, supported by Meridiam.