Autoroutes of France

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Sign used to denote entry onto Autoroute
Map
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Map

The Autoroute system in France consists largely of toll roads, except around large cities. It is a network of 12,000 km (7,450 miles) worth of motorways. Autoroute destinations are shown in blue, while destinations reached through a combination of autoroutes are shown with an added autoroute logo. Toll autoroutes are signalled with the word péage (toll).

Contents

The French Autoroute A1
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The French Autoroute A1
A French highway.
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A French highway.

[edit] Naming and numbering

Unlike other highway systems, there is no systematic numbering system, but there is a clustering of Autoroute numbers based on region. A-1, A-3, A-4, A-5, A-6, A-10, A-13, A-14, A-15, A-16 radiate from Paris with A-2, A-11 and A-12 branching from A-1, A-10 and A-13, respectively. A-7 begins in Lyon, where A-6 ends, as for the A-8 and A-9, which respectly begins near Aix-en-Provence and Avignon. The 20s are found in Northern France. The 30s are found in Eastern France. The 40s are found near the Alps. The 50s are near the French Riviera. The 60s are found in Southern France. The 70s are found in the centre of the country. The 80s are found west of Paris.

Some of the autoroutes have their own name in addition to a number: for instance, A6 and A7 are autoroute du Soleil (sun motorway), for they lead from Northern to Southern France and its sunny beach resorts. The A13 is named the autoroute de Normandie as it traverses Normandy. The A29 is part of the route des Estuaires, a chain of motorways crossing the estuaries of the English Channel. Additionally, the A40 is named the autoroute blanche (white motorway) because it is the road that goes to Chamonix and other French winter resort towns.

You can access to the map of the network with the state of the traffic on many websites including this one

Saratlas provides a comprehensive database of all the French autoroutes.

[edit] Administration

The status of motorways in France has been subject of debate through years, from their construction until recently. Originally, the Autoroutes were built by private companies mandated by the French government, and followed strict construction rules as described below. They are operated and maintained by mixed companies held in part by private interests and in part by the state. Those companies hold concessions, which means that Autoroutes belong to the French state and their administration to semi-private companies. The different companies are:

[edit] Safety on French autoroutes

France has the highest set speed limits for limited access roads in either Western Europe or North America:

  • Under normal conditions - 130 km/h (80 mph)
  • In rain or wet road conditions - 110 km/h (70 mph)
  • In heavy fog or snowy/icy conditions - 50 km/h (30 mph)

Note that Germany does not impose a speed limit on a third of their freeways, in general. In normal conditions, there is a minimum speed of 80 km/h (50 mph) in the right lane.

The autoroutes are designed to increase the safety of drivers; this allows a higher speed limit (130 km/h or 80 mph) than on the normal roads (90 km/h or 55 mph) with an acceptable risk of accident.

Dynamic information panel used on the French Autoroute.
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Dynamic information panel used on the French Autoroute.

The safety measures are:

  • one way driving: the lanes driving in the opposite direction are separated by at least a crash barrier which is designed to resist the oblique impact of a car at up to 180 km/h (110 mph); no intersecting roads but bridges and tunnels;
  • larger lanes, at least 2 (often 3) lanes driving in the same direction, with a larger turning radius;
  • long acceleration and slowing lanes to get in or out of the autoroute without disturbing the traffic;
  • presence of an additional emergency lane where it is forbidden to drive (except for the emergency services) and to park (except in case of emergency);
  • presence of emergency call boxes every 2 km (1.2 miles) on each side, that allow to call for help with the possibility to locate the call; some call boxes have flashing light that warn when there is a problem ahead;
Sign indicating an aire de repos.
  • presence every 10 km (6 miles) (4-6 minutes of driving) of resting zones (aire de repos, i.e. car parks with public toilets), and every 40 km (25 miles) (20-30 minutes of driving) of a resting zone with a restaurant;
  • regular patrols of the security services, to clear any obstacle and protect drivers in trouble (usually a breakdown or a flat tyre) with appropriate warning signs and beacons;
  • dynamic information panels which warn about possible difficulties ahead (accident, men at work, traffic jam);
  • an FM radio station (107.7 MHz) dedicated to information about traffic conditions on the most of the network;
  • on heavy traffic days (e.g. beginning and end of school holidays): organisation of specific information and recreation events at rest areas;
  • radars automatiques (permanent automatic radars) currently being installed in many locations.

[edit] Economics

The toll roads were granted as concessions to mixed-economy corporations; the non-toll roads are directly administered by the national government. Tolls are either based on a flat-rate for access to the road or on the distance driven. The latter case is the most common for long distances; users take a ticket from an automatic machine when they enter the autoroute, and pay according to the distance when exiting; toll booths accept cash, debit cards and credit cards.

Sign indicating a péage.

In 2005, the Villepin government proposed a controversial plan to sell all of the state's holdings in autoroute companies to private investors. Critics contend that the price announced is well below the profit forecasts for these companies, and thus that the government sacrifices the future to solve current budgetary problems.

See the Press release of 12-14-2005

[edit] List of Autoroutes

[edit] A1 - A9

[edit] A10 - A20

A10 autoroute near Paris
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A10 autoroute near Paris

[edit] A21 - A29

[edit] A30 - A39

[edit] A40 - A49

[edit] A50 - A59

[edit] A60 - A69

[edit] A70 - A79

[edit] A80 - A99

[edit] Others

A13 in the outskirts of Caen
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A13 in the outskirts of Caen

[edit] See also

 Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] External links


 French motorways

A 1 | A 2 | A 3 | A 4 | A 5 | A 6 | A 7 | A 8 | A 9 | A 10 | A 11 | A 12 | A 13 | A 14 | A 15 | A 16 | A 19 | A 20 | A 21 | A 22 | A 24 | A 25 | A 26 | A 27 | A 28 | A 29 | A 30 | A 31 | A 32 | A 33 | A 34 | A 35 | A 36 | A 38 | A 39 | A 40 | A 42 | A 42 | A 43 | A 44 | A 45 | A 46 | A 47 | A 48 | A 49 | A 50 | A 51 | A 52 | A 54 | A 55 | A 57 | A 61 | A 62 | A 63 | A 64 | A 65 | A 66 | A 68 | A 71 | A 72 | A 75 | A 77 | A 79 | A 80 | A 81 | A 83 | A 84 | A 85 | A 86 | A 89 | A 103 | A 104 | A 105 | A 110 | A 131 | A 132 | A 186 | A 199 | A 203 | A 330 | A 404 | A 406 | A 430 | A 432 | A 630 | A 660 | A 680 | A 711 | A 719 | A 750 | A 831
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