Poncin. Road safety: the Departmental Council orders the felling of several trees

Following expert assessments carried out a few months ago by the Department's services, it appeared that some trees located along the RD 85, at the exit from Poncin, appeared to be necrotic.

On Monday, April 28, the Pothier pruning company in Vaulx-en-Velin arrived to carry out the work and cut down the most fragile trees. This company has mastered the art of pruning and felling for forty-five years. The order had been placed by the Ain Department to secure identified hotspots. Some trees, nearly 200 years old, with a diameter at the base of over 1.30 m, were felled.

At first glance, nothing seemed to predestined them for such a fate. But after felling, the view was quite different. Rot in the heart of the trees made them vulnerable and fragile during high winds. Others underwent simple pruning of dead wood. A truck-mounted platform and lifting equipment were used by the specialists in their work. The residue was shredded on site. The work was scheduled to last several days.

The road towards Saint-Alban and Challes-la-Montagne was completely closed to traffic from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The traffic diversion management was implemented by the Department's road and technical agency during this extraordinary work. The end of the felling work is scheduled for May 7 at the level of PR 0+745 to PR 0+848. As traffic is prohibited in these areas, diversions are indicated by the RD 91, RD 1084, RD 11h, RD 11 and RD 85a, the Department indicates on its website .