Le Saty resign

The Linglé - Dohan - Noirefontaine motorway (16 km) has been a problematic road for decades. The gorge is at the pass along the Semois north of the Han-du-Han meanders at a place called Le Saty.

The road runs along a steep slope of the Semois for a few hundred meters, the subsoil of which is particularly unstable and consists of loose slate. Partly due to the "polishing" of the Semois against the slope, the situation for a possible collapse remains precarious.

In 1986, a large landslide occurred at the infamous site , destroying the road for a short distance. Traffic had to be diverted to alternative roads. The GR 16, then called the GR AE, was also diverted on an alternative route further north via Moulin Hideux. The N865 remained impassable until 1991, which was detrimental to tourism in Doha . The road was repaired, gabions were placed on the narrow road, which was partially open to one-way traffic. This was only a temporary fix. The road between Les Hayons and Noirefontaine would be widened and improved over the following years as a safer alternative. But this road actually bypasses Dohan in the valley.

The GR AE was diverted along the N865 in 2003, but the old diversion route (since 1993) for walkers via Moulin Hideux was retained as an alternative route should the N865 close permanently. Amazingly, a redesigned N865 with a reduced lane reopened in Le Saty in 2005. This lasted until 2010. Several scientific investigations on site showed that the situation was not safe and further collapses could always occur.

The mayor of Bouillon ordered the road to be permanently closed in 2010 , as the Walloon Roads Administration refused to consider the N865 safe. To the dismay of Doha residents , who had formed an action committee to keep the road open.

Apart from that, it can be added that around 2003, the Valón GR Trails association was also studying the possibility of reorganizing the main route of the GR AE (16) due to the long passage on asphalt. However, this idea was not developed further. Until 2015 the situation was to follow the N865 on foot along the problem lane at Le Saty, but you also have the option of following the old variant of the route. Since 2015 there has been another change. This part of the N865 has been permanently removed, the old variant route has been adjusted and is now part of the main route GR 16.

Willem Vandenameele