N27 reopens 17 years after landslide

(CS/NiM) The N27 between Erpeldange and Michelau reopened on Monday, some 17 years after a 3000 cubic metre landslide caused by a thunderstorm blocked a stretch of road.

On July 6, 1997, following a heavy thunderstorm, slate rocks broke loose from a quarry site near the N27 and crashed onto the road, blocking a stretch of 350 metres.

While clearing the rocks was not the problem, stabilising the hill to avoid future incidents of the kind posed the real challenge, with numerous ideas presented and rejected over the years.

It would take until September 2013 for a Dutch company to be charged with installing protective fences, as well as a topographic monitoring system. This type of road-side protection is unusual for the area and is normally used only in high mountain regions.

The 2.3 million project allowed the road to be cleared completely, with Infrastructure Minister François Bausch at the site on Monday to see it opened for traffic.

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