The 50th anniversary of the Landing in Vierville

To prepare for the reception of the ceremonies on June 6, the Departmental Directorate of Equipment attended a demonstration of temporary coatings in a meadow in Vierville-sur-Mer on a Friday morning. It was a matter of quickly transforming grassland into access roads and parking lots, while preserving the land.

Philippe Streets, director of Trakway in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, Seine-Maritime, presented the equipment with a construction team. Present were François-Marc Turpin, deputy director of the DDE, Jean-Louis Dupressoir, head of the road and transport operations department, and Martine Asse, in charge of communication.

The plates offered varied according to use: aluminum for trucks and cars, high-density polyethylene with integrated non-slip strips for pedestrians. Presented as quickly removable, non-flammable and usable on sand or soaked terrain, the system had to avoid damaging the ground. According to Philippe Streets, his principle was inspired by equipment used by the Americans during the Landing.

The process had been used for twenty-five years in England, in particular to convert stadiums like Wembley into concert venues in one day without damaging the lawn. Plates were also used to transform the Lillehammer Olympic ice rink.

The weekly rental was announced at about 60 F per square meter for truck plates and 140 F per linear meter for car and pedestrian access, including installation and removal. The installation capacity reached 7,000 m² per day.

In total, 15,000 m² of roads, parking lots and temporary access were to be installed on the site. The challenge was in particular to prevent bad weather conditions from making the land impassable during the fiftieth anniversary.