“We’re breaking everything inside!” : the renovation project for the central halls of Béziers has started

While some destroy the last stalls, other workers work on handling wooden beams to consolidate the structure. – Diane Petitmangin

The mechanical excavators will break everything that remains of the stalls, the tiles and the interior partitions. Diane Petitmangin

The renovation project for the Béziers halls began this Monday, February 11. Here, workers remove the windows. Diane Petitmangin

It will take about a month, or even a month and a half, to break everything up and evacuate everything inside the halls. Diane Petitmangin

All waste collected by the Micka TP company is evacuated to Valoridec, a recycling and recovery center for industrial waste. Diane Petitmangin

35 m3 bins were placed outside the building to accommodate the waste. Diane Petitmangin

In the basements of the halls, there too, everything has to be broken down: storage spaces, cold rooms, unloading docks, etc. Diane Petitmangin

Les travaux comprennent la destruction de tout le sous-sol également , hormis les murs extérieurs et les fondations. Diane Petitmangin

Durant au moins un mois, les entreprises vont tout casser à l'intérieur des halles de Béziers et au sous-sol et évacuer tout ce qui reste des anciens étals des commerçants et artisans.

A roaring mess. Barriers now surround the central halls of Béziers and block access, except for people authorized to work on the site. Cranes and nacelles, mechanical excavators and other demolition machines are hard at work to make a clean sweep of the past, on the surface as well as in the basement.

The makeover has begun and will last eight months. Outside, workers, perched on their perches, dismantle the frames and windows. inside, the spectacle is even more impressive: with a monster crash, the machines maneuver to break everything. The L'Hallegria brewery, the only one to remain open during the work, is all covered in protective tarpaulins.

Travaux de rénovation des halles de Béziers : c’est parti pic.twitter.com/qhlS52GmR4

— Midi Libre Béziers (@MLBeziers) February 13, 2024

 

Break walls and partitions inside

"Our mission is to demolish everything, smiles Jérémy Ratel, machine operator for the Micka TP company. We break everything with a mini excavator, we evacuate everything that remains from the old stalls and we tear down the partitions and interior walls. We will also remove all the tiles on the floor to expose the slab. Ditto in the basement where artisans and traders had their cold rooms, their preparation labs and their storage spaces.

The construction site began this Monday, February 11, at 10 a.m., "after the bailiff's observation of the condition of the ground&quot ;, around the halls. The companies involved therefore take many precautions to avoid damaging the exterior paving. "We also placed the evacuation bins on cardboard boxes& ;quot;, continues Jérémy Ratel. 35 m3 dump trucks, with a truck that turns as soon as one is full and evacuates the contents to the Valoridec site, which recycles and recovers industrial waste. 

The cladding of the openings will be done with wooden slats, a requirement of Bâtiments de France, for this listed building. D.P.

The machine operator estimates that it will take them "a month to a month and a half to clear everything out". Meanwhile, the firm  Naos architecture, in charge of the renovation project, and structural specialists examine the building, supporting plans, from every angle. According to certain sources, the metal framework of the halls is really corroded in certain places. During the last municipal council, technical elements were also clarified: "We discovered the poor condition of the metal buried in the ground. It is much more deteriorated than we imagined, explained Robert Ménard.  "So yes it cost more than expected, because the construction site is progressing more quickly and we are facing more significant damage, the elected official further underlined. As a reminder, the total cost of this extensive renovation is estimated at 16 million euros.