A key project in Africa
With a route length of 37 km and a capacity of 540,000 passengers per day, Line 1 of the Abidjan Metro (L1MA) is a key project for improving mobility and traffic flow in a rapidly growing metropolitan area of 5 million inhabitants.
Among the major technical challenges of this project are:
- The construction of a 500-metre viaduct to span the Ebrié Lagoon, situated just 2 metres from the existing Félix Houphouët-Boigny Bridge.
- The construction of reinforced soil embankments (VSoL) to optimise the project’s footprint within a dense urban area.
- The installation of 34 pedestrian footbridges and 21 rail and road bridge crossings to ensure smooth traffic flow.
The STAR consortium (SICMA / Colas Rail / Alstom / Keolis Group) is responsible for the design, construction, operation and maintenance, whilst setec, alongside Egis and the BNETD (Bureau National d’Études Techniques et de Développement), is providing Technical Assistance to the Project Owner (ATMO) on behalf of the Ivorian government.
Involved since the Detailed Preliminary Design (APD) phase, terrasol (through its team comprising Bénédicte Madinier, Alexandre Beaussier and Simon Grénery) is involved in the geotechnical aspects: reviewing designs, monitoring works and supporting local teams to ensure a robust and sustainable project.
What is the current status of the project?
- Deep foundations for various standard engineering structures are currently being laid;
- The VSoL walls adjacent to the abutments of the PRO and PRA are also under construction
- For the viaduct, the foundations for the abutments on the Treichville side were completed in the first half of 2024, and work on the piles for the abutments in the Ebrié lagoon has been underway since June 2024. These piles, 2 m in diameter, can reach a depth of nearly 70 m in the lagoon.
An ambitious project, a major technical challenge, and a significant step forward for transport in Abidjan!