French Autoroutes - then and now

[PTR 444]

I came across a map on my Facebook news feed the other day showing a comparison of the French Autoroute network from 1990 and 2019. I was intrigued to discover how different it looked back then, with the most notable omissions including:

• Generally a very Paris-centric network, following roughly the same routes as the TGV network does today.
• Very few cross-country autoroutes bypassing Paris. The A26 (Calais-Reims) and A31 (Dijon-Luxembourg) are largely complete, but apart from that most autoroutes involve connecting Paris in some way.
• Some clusters of local autoroutes around provincial cities including Lille, Rouen, Lyon and Marseille, but relatively short in length.
• A notable lack of autoroutes through the Massif Central, with no A20, A75 or A89. To get from Bordeaux to Lyon on autoroutes you would have needed to go via Montpellier.

It’s amazing to believe that a country as developed and car-centric as France, only 35 years ago had half the distance of autoroutes it has now. In those intervening years, more length of controlled access highway has been built in France than has even been built in the UK.

Was there a political decision behind such a rapid expansion on this scale, or an engineering or economic one?

Shame the pace of building LGVs can’t keep up mind.

 

[Cowley]

I came across a map on my Facebook news feed the other day showing a comparison of the French Autoroute network from 1990 and 2019. I was intrigued to discover how different it looked back then, with the most notable omissions including:

• Generally a very Paris-centric network, following roughly the same routes as the TGV network does today.
• Very few cross-country autoroutes bypassing Paris. The A26 (Calais-Reims) and A31 (Dijon-Luxembourg) are largely complete, but apart from that most autoroutes involve connecting Paris in some way.
• Some clusters of local autoroutes around provincial cities including Lille, Rouen, Lyon and Marseille, but relatively short in length.
• A notable lack of autoroutes through the Massif Central, with no A20, A75 or A89. To get from Bordeaux to Lyon on autoroutes you would have needed to go via Montpellier.

It’s amazing to believe that a country as developed and car-centric as France, only 35 years ago had half the distance of autoroutes it has now. In those intervening years, more length of controlled access highway has been built in France than has even been built in the UK.

Was there a political decision behind such a rapid expansion on this scale, or an engineering or economic one?

Shame the pace of building LGVs can’t keep up mind.

Interesting. Is it possible that some of these were existing dual carriageway routes that were just steadily upgraded over the last few decades?

 

[PTR 444]

Interesting. Is it possible that some of these were existing dual carriageway routes that were just steadily upgraded over the last few decades?

Perhaps. France has a relatively low population density though so I can’t imagine there would have been many dual carriageways outside the major urban areas.

 

[Ediswan]

Interesting. Is it possible that some of these were existing dual carriageway routes that were just steadily upgraded over the last few decades?

Maybe some, but not in general. The French way is either roughly parallel to existing routes, or completely new routes. We were very pleased when the A432 (Lyon eastern bypass) was opened.

 

[Snow1964]

Some in the west and north of France were built with European Union contributions, that is why parts of the routes in Normandy and Britany etc are free.

The French also seemed to understand that people don't always want to go between big cities, they also want to go across country to the coast etc. A lot of the later autoroutes were built as toll concessions as fast alternatives to slow single carriageway N (national) routes

 

[jupiter]

When you look at the route map, from a network design perspective it’s been very cleverly done. Having done many hundreds of miles across France by vehicle this year, I’d say it’s a very effective design and properly built.

 

[Bald Rick]

Interesting. Is it possible that some of these were existing dual carriageway routes that were just steadily upgraded over the last few decades?

Very little was existing dual carriageway upgraded. The only bits I can think of are the very north end of the A26 from Calais to the first toll booth, and a few bits and pieces around Alençon on the A28 (although there must be other parts).

In the summer of 1987 we went on holiday to the Costa Brava, driving all the way in the Montego from Calais. On the way down it was the N20 most of the way to avoid the traffic and save on the tolls: Rouen, Chartres, over the under construction LGV-A, a brief stint on the A10 then A71 to Salbris (the A71 ended there then, although was being extended down to Vierzon), then N20 to Monatauban. Then A62/61 to Narbonne and A9 from there to the border. It was single carriageway almost the whole way to Montauban; the only dual carriageway I remember was on the lumpy bit around Brive. It took 2 days. I never really forgave my Dad for that, when I knew it was possible in about 11 hours via the A10 (even on a summer Saturday in August!)

What is also noticeable is how much bigger the towns en route are now.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

It would be nice if some of the inner city Autoroutes could actually be removed - the original Autoroute de Soleil past Lyon Perrache station is an abomination. At least the Georges Pompidou Expressway in Paris, although not an Autoroute, is now for bikes!

 

[biko]

Very little was existing dual carriageway upgraded. The only bits i can think of are the very north end of the A26 from Calais to the first toll both, and a few bits and pieces around Alençon on the A28 (although there must be other parts).

I would add the A10 south of Bordeaux and I believe also that parts of the A84 has been upgraded from dual carriageway to motorway, especially the southern end.

The main reason I think why France has built so much is because of the toll concessions. It saves the government a lot of investment if companies do it for them.

 

[Bald Rick]

I would add the A10 south of Bordeaux and I believe also that parts of the A84 has been upgraded from dual carriageway to motorway, especially the southern end.

The main reason I think why France has built so much is because of the toll concessions. It saves the government a lot of investment if companies do it for them.

Think youre right about the A84, but the A10 south of Bordeaux?

 

[ABB125]

It would be interesting to do a similar comparison for the UK. There would be far less change, and still be massive gaps in the network.
Since 1990, off the top of my head the only bits of new motorway I can think of are A74(M), sections of A1(M), half the M65, M40 beyond Oxford, M1 beyond Leeds. Many of these replaced existing dual carriageway A roads, so are not "new" routes. Possibly a few other shortish extensions in more urban areas (particularly in Scotland, the M74 and M8 spring to mind).

 

[PTR 444]

It would be interesting to do a similar comparison for the UK. There would be far less change, and still be massive gaps in the network.
Since 1990, off the top of my head the only bits of new motorway I can think of are A74(M), sections of A1(M), half the M65, M40 beyond Oxford, M1 beyond Leeds. Many of these replaced existing dual carriageway A roads, so are not "new" routes. Possibly a few other shortish extensions in more urban areas (particularly in Scotland, the M74 and M8 spring to mind).

Add to that the M3 Twyford Down section, M4 Second Severn Crossing and M20 Maidstone - Ashford.

When you look at the route map, from a network design perspective it’s been very cleverly done. Having done many hundreds of miles across France by vehicle this year, I’d say it’s a very effective design and properly built.

It’d be interesting to know whether the later autoroutes were planned from the outset alongside the initial ones. The UK had grand plans for a much denser network with the London Ringways, South Coast Motorway etc, but most of these never got built due to financial or environmental reasons.

France is basically in the top league when it comes to connecting its largest cities by motorway. The UK can’t even get Plymouth or Norwich connected to the motorway network, let alone fill significant gaps like Manchester - Sheffield and Bristol - Southampton.

And don’t even get me started on the Republic of Ireland, where (almost) all motorways lead to Dublin as if no other place exists.

 

[perkin]

M49 was also a new route constructed in 1996 in association with the second Severn crossing, in order to cut a corner off journeys to the west of Bristol from the new route of the M4 and relieve pressure on the M4/M5 interchange

 

[signed]

economic one?

Tolls (especially on the French scale where a cross-country trip from Lille to Nice will cost you upwards of €100) are extremely juicy money (both for the state and the private companies operating them), it's a no brainer, the most you convert, the much money you get (especially as they hike up every year by something like 5% per year in some places, in 2021, the operating companies pocketed 3.9B€ in profits)

https://www.largus.fr/actualite-automobile/societes-d-autoroutes-des-mega-profits-en-2021-430-000-e-par-km-30024926.html

L’autorité de tutelle des sociétés d’autoroutes (l'ART) vient de révéler le montant faramineux de leurs bénéfices 2021 : 3,9 milliards d’euros. Soit une moyenne de 430 000 € pour chacun des 9 117 km en service

The motorway guardian authority revealed the hugh benefits of 2021 : 3.9 Billion euros. An average of 430k per km on the 9117km-long network

 

[berneyarms]

Add to that the M3 Twyford Down section, M4 Second Severn Crossing and M20 Maidstone - Ashford.


It’d be interesting to know whether the later autoroutes were planned from the outset alongside the initial ones. The UK had grand plans for a much denser network with the London Ringways, South Coast Motorway etc, but most of these never got built due to financial or environmental reasons.

France is basically in the top league when it comes to connecting its largest cities by motorway. The UK can’t even get Plymouth or Norwich connected to the motorway network, let alone fill significant gaps like Manchester - Sheffield and Bristol - Southampton.

And don’t even get me started on the Republic of Ireland, where (almost) all motorways lead to Dublin as if no other place exists.

To be fair, given that there were virtually no motorways at all in Ireland until the 1990s, and that the largest traffic flow in the country is to/from Dublin, and that Dublin Port is Ireland’s largest port, it was logical that the focus on building new motorways would be to and from Dublin.

Some of these, to be fair, do facilitate regional travel too.

The focus since then has been on the Atlantic corridor with the addition of the M17 & M18 leading to motorway/dual carriageway between Tuam in Co. Galway and Limerick.

The M20 is the remaining piece of the Atlantic corridor and is currently in planning, and this will link Limerick with Cork, while a new port access route will also be built to Foynes port which will link to the M20.

 

[PTR 444]

Tolls (especially on the French scale where a cross-country trip from Lille to Nice will cost you upwards of €100) are extremely juicy money (both for the state and the private companies operating them), it's a no brainer, the most you convert, the much money you get (especially as they hike up every year by something like 5% per year in some places, in 2021, the operating companies pocketed 3.9B€ in profits)

https://www.largus.fr/actualite-automobile/societes-d-autoroutes-des-mega-profits-en-2021-430-000-e-par-km-30024926.html

Motorway tolling on a large scale like this is often touted as a solution for offsetting the loss in UK fuel duty with the adoption of EVs. It’ll be interesting to see what approach the French government takes with the tolling infrastructure already in place.

 

[signed]

It’ll be interesting to see what approach the French government takes with the tolling infrastructure already in place.

Nationalisation of the motorway companies has been a rumor for years, and is probably quite near, Marine Le Pen has publically supported the move from private companies

 

[biko]

Think youre right about the A84, but the A10 south of Bordeaux?

Oops, I shouldn't write late at night without double-checking, it is the N10 which was converted into the A63

 

[WibbleWobble]

Was there a political decision behind such a rapid expansion on this scale, or an engineering or economic one?

There was a drive in the 1990s to open up isolated regions, which followed a Master Plan being published in 1988 outlining the French government's desire to build nearly 3000 km of motorway within a decade. Private financing by selling stakes in the toll companies helped raise significant cash.

Interesting. Is it possible that some of these were existing dual carriageway routes that were just steadily upgraded over the last few decades?

A mixture. Some significant stretches of motorway were upgrades of Nationales (the A63 and A75 being examples of where this happened), but a lot of offline construction also took place.

Some in the west and north of France were built with European Union contributions, that is why parts of the routes in Normandy and Britany etc are free.

Britanny has very little autoroute, because the Regional government argued against it, resulting in it being pushed into the long grass. There's still a State desire to upgrade axes like the N12, N13 and N165 in the very long term, with work being done in a piecemeal fashion to bring old sections of dual carriageway up to modern standards.

It would be nice if some of the inner city Autoroutes could actually be removed - the original Autoroute de Soleil past Lyon Perrache station is an abomination. At least the Georges Pompidou Expressway in Paris, although not an Autoroute, is now for bikes!

There are plans - the A6 and A7 through Lyon were downgraded to a local road with the ambition of turning them into "urban boulevards". So they will go from motorway to 30mph roads with interchanges replaced with signalised junctions and roundabouts. Same is planned with the A709 in Montpellier and the former motorways in Strasbourg.

It’d be interesting to know whether the later autoroutes were planned from the outset alongside the initial ones. The UK had grand plans for a much denser network with the London Ringways, South Coast Motorway etc, but most of these never got built due to financial or environmental reasons.

There were plans dating back to the late 1940s for a large intercity network, but money was scarse - this is why tolling was used. Naturally, plans were refined, projects dropped (mainly due to money) and new ones appear in their place.

Nationalisation of the motorway companies has been a rumor for years, and is probably quite near, Marine Le Pen has publically supported the move from private companies

Nationalisation might not be possible because it could breach European Union laws (which is why the State had to sell them off in the first place!). It would need a change to the structure of how tolled motorways are managed, in that it would have to be direct rather than via a concession. France is seeing regional rail networks go the other way due to similar laws.

The main reason I think why France has built so much is because of the toll concessions. It saves the government a lot of investment if companies do it for them.

Yet they won't do that as much these days - other than the A69 that is in progress, the number of motorway projects is very small (mainly Rouen Eastern Bypass and the N154 upgrade).

 

[signed]

There's still a State desire to upgrade axes like the N12, N13 and N165 in the very long term, with work being done in a piecemeal fashion to bring old sections of dual carriageway up to modern standards.

That's never gonna happen, don't have enough traffic to justify something like that, and indeed politically that would be hardly swallowed

Plus there is the white elephant in the N164 that should have been a dual carriageway throughout, for years now, but it's still patchwork. The N12 is quite in good shape how is it now, upgrading it to motorway standard would make very little sense for the huge costs involved

 

[WibbleWobble]

That's never gonna happen, don't have enough traffic to justify something like that, and indeed politically that would be hardly swallowed

Traffic volumes aren't always taken into consideration, opening up regions economically is a big factor.

If it was just down to traffic, motorways like the A20, A75 and especially the A51 would have never been built.

Of the N164, there are five sections to do:
- Merdrignac east (due to open by the end of the year)
- Merdrignac west (should start when east is finished)
- Plémet (in progess, delayed by construction issues)
- Mûr-de-Bretagne (no start date but hoped to be done by the end of the decade - this is the biggest section remaining)
- Rostrenen west (in progress)
But yes, it should have been done 50 years ago!

 

[signed]

Traffic volumes aren't always taken into consideration, opening up regions economically is a big factor.

Better roads are always better to have, but what opening would that make?

The N12 is already a 110kph dual carriage way 99% of it length between Brest and Rennes, mostly the same thing with the N165/N24 combo between Quimper and Rennes/Nantes.

By putting it at 130kph you would save like what 5min/100km, hardly worth it, and apart from the Rennes to Saint-Brieuc and around Lorient, there aren't really any major traffic bottleneck that would warrant any capacity improvement.

The most important thing would be to get N164 finally built.

 

[stuu]

Britanny has very little autoroute, because the Regional government argued against it, resulting in it being pushed into the long grass. There's still a State desire to upgrade axes like the N12, N13 and N165 in the very long term, with work being done in a piecemeal fashion to bring old sections of dual carriageway up to modern standards.

Not quite. The Brittany region argued they shouldn't have to pay tolls because of the region's relative isolation, and the French state agreed. This was also related to the vague separatist movement in Brittany, so the plan was instead for the 3 major routes to be improved. Which still hasn't fully happened, but the N12 and N165 are pretty much indistinguishable from autoroutes these days