The Western Strasbourg bypass (A355) in eastern France was commissioned. Recognised as a public interest on 23 January 2008, this 24 km long road represents the most extensive motorway project undertaken in France in recent years. The A355 was inaugurated in Ittenheim on 11 December 2021 by Jean Castex, France’s Prime Minister, and Pierre Coppey, the Executive Vice-President of VINCI and Chairman of VINCI Autoroutes, in the presence of Xavier Huillard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of VINCI, and many locally elected officials.
VINCI Autoroutes, as contracting authority, financed the €561 million cost of the project and will also operate and maintain the new motorway as part of a concession contract spanning 54 years. Commissioning this motorway marks the culmination of a project launched in October 2018 after three years of studies and preparatory work, which involved 6,000 people and over 300 companies, a third of which are based in the Alsace region. The design and construction work was entrusted to a consortium of companies made up of VINCI Construction (Dodin Campenon Bernard, lead company, VINCI Construction Terrassement, VINCI Construction France and Eurovia), VINCI Energies (Cegelec Mobility) and Ingerop Conseil & Ingénierie.
Its design, construction and operating model makes the A355 a ground-breaking project in road transport infrastructure, in terms of ecological transparency and environmental integration. For example, 1,315 hectares of land have been the subject of environmental offsetting measures – 4.5 times the total footprint of the finished motorway – and 130 wildlife passages were built, representing one passage every 200 metres, which in relative terms is 20 times more than on other motorway networks in France.
