Russell 23Russell Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 We travelled back from Limousin on Saturday, maybe a mistake as it was the start of the French holidays, so we decided to retrace our route of the outward journey using the A28 Alencon, Le Mans etc which kept us as far from Paris as possible. The roads were very quiet going north but very busy southbound. The only problems were stopping at the services outside Alencon which were very busy (serves both north and southbound). The A28 was almost empty with often only one other car in sight at times - until we reached the end outside Rouen, where we met a queue for the peage. Several very clear signs indicated that cash payments in the lefthand lane and telepeage and bank cards in the righthand. We duly joined the left lane which didn't move while the right lane was moving fairly quickly with a very large proportion of foreign registered cars in it. It quickly became clear that most of these cars were then pushing in to the cash queue nearer the peage which meant that us poor folk doing as instructed took nearly an hour to do 600m. As we had timed our journey to Le Havre with a small amount of slack this did not go down well. A rather fast journey from the peage to Le Havre ensued - we had an hour to get from the peage booth to the ferry before it sailed. We were the last onto the ferry, infact the draw bridge was raised before we had got out of the car. This is a rant at the selfish B******DS who were pushing in and also at the operators of the peage as there were only 4 booths (1 later increased to 2 for cash) to service the end of the motorway. Was this motorway built with private money, down to a price? The aires being single sided, the lack of booths and the single carriage viaducts point to a penny pinching build. This route, while being more scenic and quieter takes longer so it is hard to justify its use in future. A poor end to a holiday [:@] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunday Driver Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 You did pick a bad time to travel because all motorways/peages are like that on the busy days of the French holidays. Next time, check out the Bison Fute for details of which routes are going to be clogged up. Normally, the A28 is deserted and therefore a very pleasant road to use. Low traffic volumes mean single sided aires, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 The A28 is a very good road and usually very quiet. I'm afraid it was the same almost everywhere last weekend - it said so on the traffic news bulletins. Paris was a nightmare. The A28 single carriage viaducts are in line to be upgraded to two lanes in the near future. Sortsighted not to do it at the time of construction but it is being addressed. Incidentally, the first time I used the A28 it was night time and I didn't even notice the viaducts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anton Redman Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 On Saturday the queues to join the Peage North out of Bordeaux were 20 or 30 cars long.The Peage barriers are one of the few places where a UK credit cards works because they do not dial up for verification ( if the card fails they do not lift they barrier next time)Once watched a Mercedes Tractor unit close the door on a BMW on the M 20 out of London. Very nice piece of driving Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJSLIV Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 The A28 single carriage viaducts are in line to be upgraded to two lanes in the near futureI think the widening only applies to the small Cofidis owned older viaduct over the river near to Le Mans. The huge cost of the two viaducts nearer to Rouen caused the project to suffer many delays and cancelations. It was against this background that a new consortium led by a construction company, not one of the circle of the usual operators, came forward. They offered cut price proposals , including a new solution for the two viaducts and this finally allowed the road to be built. So I think we can expect the two single tracks to be there for some time to come.The motorway was built at lot less expensively than a traditional autoroute, and it does show at times. It seems a very long way to get to the services, but at least it was built. I just hope that they didn't cut any corners as far as the road structure itself is concerned , lengthy stretches of contraflow will be fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeb Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 Not a good day to travel - according to French news last Saturday was the busiest day of the summer on the road due to the August close down - a rouge weekend. Mind you, we made the mistake once of driving (southbound) through Paris at 6pm on 13th July pont weekend!Why do the French all have to travel on the same time/day and stop at services at the same time to eat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell 23Russell Posted August 2, 2006 Author Share Posted August 2, 2006 I realise that it was not a good day to travel, but hindsight is wonderful isn't it? The A28, apart from the services, was deserted which is why the queue was a puzzle. The viaduc near Le Mans is being widened now.Are we sure that UK cards work in peage machines? Do they need to be Visa type credit, or Switch type debit cards?ViaMichelin recommend coming off at J14 and heading cross country and using the Pont de Normandie rather than hanging on to the end of the A28, may try that next time, cheaper on tolls, quicker and shorter as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 [quote user="BJSLIV"]The A28 single carriage viaducts are in line to be upgraded to two lanes in the near futureI think the widening only applies to the small Cofidis owned older viaduct over the river near to Le Mans.[/quote]That's a bummer. Our local rag ran an article shortly after the opening saying that there were plans to widen the existing single carriage viaducts on the A28. They didn't say it was just that one![quote user="BJSLIV"]It seems a very long way to get to the services, but at least it was built. [/quote]Alis announced the opening of a second service station at Chaumont (Aire du Haras) mid-July. Petrol, shop, sandwiches, drinks, hot food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 [quote user="Russell 23"]Are we sure that UK cards work in peage machines? Do they need to be Visa type credit, or Switch type debit cards?[/quote]They certainly used to. We used to use them on holidays. Can't see why they should no longer be accepted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilec Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 [quote user="Cassis"]Alis announced the opening of a second service station at Chaumont (Aire du Haras) mid-July. Petrol, shop, sandwiches, drinks, hot food.[/quote]This was open when we came back on 23rd July. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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