The most expensive road in the world sits in an ocean and cost £233m per mile | World | News
Early estimates put the cost at around €2billion (£1.75billion) for just 12.5km (7.5 miles) of road (Image: Getty)
There have been some truly amazing roads built over the years, but none are believed to be as expensive as the one being constructed on a French tropical island. Early estimates show it could cost around £233million per mile.
The island of Réunion sits thousands of miles from mainland France in the Indian Ocean, yet it is still fully part of France and the European Union. It uses the euro, has French laws and is treated the same as any other French region despite its remote location. For decades, drivers on Réunion had to rely on a coastal road that ran directly below steep cliffs.
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The new route sits on huge viaducts and causeways (Image: Getty)
The work is being carried out by a consortium that includes major French construction firms (Image: Getty)
Rockfalls, landslides and violent storms regularly forced it to close, creating long delays and dangerous conditions.
After years of problems, officials decided the island needed a safer and more reliable route.
That decision led to the creation of the project now known as the Nouvelle Route du Littoral, or New Coastal Road.
Early estimates put the cost at around €2billion (£1.75billion) for just 12.5km (7.5 miles) of road. That works out at roughly £233million per mile.
There are some projections which suggest that the final cost may rise even further to €2.5billion (£2.2billion) by the time the project is completed.
Construction began around 2013-2014 (Image: Getty)
The old road runs parallel to the project (Image: Getty)
The price is so high because large parts of the road are being built out in the ocean. Instead of hugging the coastline, the new route sits on huge viaducts and causeways designed to withstand waves, storms and strong cyclones.
This requires deep foundations, specialist marine engineering and large amounts of rock, which has been difficult to source on the island.
Construction began around 2013-2014, following earlier studies that started in the 1990s.
The aim is to create a new link between Saint-Denis and La Possession, two of the busiest areas on the island.
The old road is regularly disrupted, so the new one is seen as a long-term fix for safety and traffic problems.
The aim is to create a new link between Saint-Denis and La Possession (Image: Getty)
The project is still not finished. A major 8.7km (5.4 miles) viaduct section opened between 2022 and 2023 for limited one-way traffic.
But the remaining sections are still under construction after years of delays. New phases are expected to begin in 2026, with full completion likely around 2030.
The work is being carried out by a consortium that includes major French construction firms such as Vinci Construction and Bouygues Travaux Publics.
The funding comes from the French Government, the regional council of Réunion and the European Union.
Réunion is home to around 860,000 people.
