France's first eco-motorway and biggest road infrastructure project to date has been finished following 4 million man hours put in by more than 8000 workers.The 101km A19 Artenay-Courtenay was completed this week, four months ahead of schedule.
Linking the A10, A6 and A77, it will complete the outer bypass of the greater Paris region.
It is the country's most eco-friendly road thanks to steps taken to prevent any water running off the motorway without being treated first.
To achieve this, the road has 107 run-off treatment basins as well as animal crossings and lots of trees to suck up that carbon dioxide.
Apart from its environmental credentials, the project is also being praised for its record fast completion.
It took just four years to get it up and running from the signing of the concession contract, which concessionaire Arcour claims shows how effective its operator-designer-builder business model is.
Below is a clip of the road's completely bizarre launch, which included line dancing, a giant inflatable giraffe, the Blues Brothers, a man making fire from a stick and donkeys.
Nothing says j'aime la France like some boot scootin' Blues Brothers (hoping my Babelfish worked with that one).
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