The rescue of the island character of Mont-Saint-Michel officially began

PARIS - French Minister of the Environment Nelly Olin officially launched the implementation of a project on Friday, aimed at preserving the island character of one of France's most famous monuments - the Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy. The work is expected to last several years, but the monument will remain accessible throughout.
One of the central points of the project will be the removal of the dam with the road that currently connects the island to the mainland and its replacement with a bridge, across which a shuttle service will operate. The dam restricts the free movement of sea currents, contributing to the silting up of the bay at Mont-Saint-Michel with sand. The plan also includes the removal of some sediment in the bay and modifications to the bed of the Couesnon River, which flows into it. However, the first phase will be the replacement of the dam at the river's mouth with a new one, which is intended to ensure better removal of debris to the sea.
Experts have calculated that due to sedimentation in the bay and its encroachment by vegetation, Mont-Saint-Michel might not be an island in forty years. Its island character is one of the main factors of its uniqueness.
The costs for the project, the start of which was announced last year, were initially estimated at 220 million euros (6.6 billion crowns). The minister stated today that after review by the inter-ministerial committee, the state's funding has been limited to 140 million.
Mont-Saint-Michel, which is home to about thirty people, is visited by 3.5 million tourists each year. It is the third most visited monument in the country after the Eiffel Tower and Paris's Notre-Dame Cathedral. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has listed it as a World Heritage Site.
The abbey was founded around 708 by the bishop of nearby Avranches at the site where the archangel Michael is said to have appeared to him.