Beynac Bypass Project: Millions Wasted on Abandoned or Unfinished Road
The regional audit chamber of Dordogne has estimated that the proposed bypass project around the tourist village of Beynac will cost the department tens of millions of euros, regardless of whether it is completed or abandoned. The chamber has highlighted a "lack of caution" in the project’s management.
The bypass project, intended to alleviate traffic and improve safety in the village of 500 inhabitants, has been a source of contention for decades. Proponents argue that it is necessary to reduce congestion and make the town safer, while opponents assert that it would damage the site’s beauty and harm the environment.
An initial version of the project was rejected by administrative courts in 2019 and 2022, after construction had begun, leaving the pillars of a future bridge standing unfinished in the middle of the Dordogne River. The department, presided over by socialist Germinal Peiro, has since been ordered to pay nearly two million euros in fines for failing to demolish the structures.
However, a revised version of the project, proposed by the departmental council and utilizing the existing structures, was approved by the prefecture in November. Opponents have announced that they will appeal this decision.
According to the regional audit chamber’s calculations, if the new project is completed, it will cost a minimum of 63 million euros, 25 million more than the initial budget estimated by the local authority. This amount will be further increased by "the costs of terminating the demolition contract," the chamber noted.
If the bypass is ultimately abandoned, and the option of restoring the site is chosen, the aborted project will have cost 41 million euros, including the payment of fines. In their chronological analysis of the case, the financial magistrates denounced "a lack of caution on the part of the project manager" and "a lack of transparency" during certain stages of the project.
In its response to the chamber, the department expressed its belief that "the completion" of its revised project "would undoubtedly benefit the sound use of public funds." It called for "an evolution of procedures or legislation (…) to prevent other local authorities, or even the state itself, from suffering such constraints and the financial losses they inevitably generate," citing the example of the A69 motorway project, whose ongoing construction could be halted by legal action.
Key Points:
- The bypass project around the village of Beynac has been a source of controversy for decades.
- The initial version of the project was rejected by the courts, and a revised version has been approved by the prefecture.
- The regional audit chamber has estimated that the project will cost tens of millions of euros, regardless of whether it is completed or abandoned.
- The chamber has criticized the project’s management, highlighting a lack of caution and transparency.
- The department has defended the project, claiming that its completion would benefit the public.
