The trophies of the monument to the dead of Toulouse dismantled because of the work of the metro

2023-04-24 17:01:19

This is the first visible operation of the movement of the monument to the dead of Toulouse (Haute-Garonne). For construction work on the third metro line, Tisséo, the Toulouse public transport organizer, has decided to move the monument installed above the François-Verdier station, where the third line will be connected with the line B and six bus lines. This exceptional operation will consist in moving the war memorial by 9 m, with a 180 degree rotation on the paths, between the plane trees.

On Monday, the four trophies erected after the First World War at the top of the monument were dismantled and placed on the ground.

“The first works started in March with the removal of the lower parts and the stairs of the war memorial and today it is the turn of the four trophies to be dismantled because they are not well hung and need restoration work on the ground, explains Mickaël Massaad, technical manager of the site with Tisséo Ingénierie. Scaffolding and wooden panels will then be put in place to protect all the sculptures on the building. At the end of May, an exoskeleton will be placed around the monument.

1,373 tons

Each statue dismantled on Monday weighs around seven tonnes and pays tribute to the combatants of the First World War. They represent an aviator with his helmet, a sailor, an alpine hunter and an artilleryman. After being sawed off on the upper part of the building, the workers placed them on the ground, near the monument, where they will remain throughout the works until 2027-2028 and will be restored on site. They will then be reintegrated on the monument, once the station has been built underneath. This operation was carried out by workers from Tisséo Ingénierie and the Arc&Sites agency, which specializes in heritage architecture.

The 1,373 tons of the structure, built between 1923 and 1928 and made up of solid stone, reinforced concrete and white granite, will be moved this summer. “It will be lifted 2 m before being placed on modular platforms on wheels, explains Mickaël Massaad. This move will ensure that the monument is maintained in its integrity”. The third metro line, called line C and 27 km long, should connect Colomiers, to the north-west of Toulouse, to Labège to the south-east of the Pink City with a view to commissioning at the end of 2028.