Toulouse: The monument moved like in a building game

It is a small model where the monument to the Glory of Fighters by François-Verdier, in white, is enclosed in a blue exoskeleton and placed on a sort of black platform with wheels. Julien Isnard, project manager for line C of the metro, explained how it works to the head of the European Commission representation in France, who was visiting Toulouse on Friday 12 May, on the site of the construction site itself.

Grown by 2 million in 4 days

“This summer, the monument, whose eight columns will be held firmly in an exoskeleton of wood and steel, will be lifted from its base”, essentially explained the specialist, an operation that will take place gently, very slowly due to the weight ( 1,000 tons) of the building and its fragility: the pediment, in one piece, is hollow and the columns will be connected to their base so that they do not move. The ascent of the 2 m high monument will take four days! The structure will then be rotated on itself at 90° and positioned on platforms all in length, types of rails equipped with small wheels which allow the whole to be moved in its position among the trees of the alleys François-Verdier, 35 m further on, ” in a single day, a few hours”, according to Julien Isnard.

Foundations at a depth of 57 m

The monument will wait here, placed on a concrete base, until the future line C station is excavated 30 or 40 m deep (the foundations will also go up to 57 m deep), below the current station of the line B, with which it will be connected. A period of archaeological excavations is foreseen, with the transfer and conservation of any unearthed remains.

The escalators, on two underground levels, will be needed to reach the platforms. The monument will return to its original position in 2027, with the same displacement in reverse, for the commissioning of line C at the end of 2028.