Is it true that the motorway now extends from Calais to A 10 now?

[Athene]

Hi all!

Anyone been down to Dept 17 from Calais recently? I heard on the grapevine that we will not have to take on the French on the mad Paris ring road as there is a new stretch of motorway open! Please can anyone give me what we should look out for on the signs?

[Andrewjspencer]

check this out

www.alis-sa.com

A28 now runs continuous from A16 at Abbeville to Alencon connecting the south end that runs on to Le Mans.

[Brilec]

No it doesn't, there is a gap round Rouen. The bit from Le Mans to Tours will open on 16th December, so not long to wait.

From Calais, follow the signs to Rouen. When you get there, follow the signs firstly to Paris/Caen, then just Caen and Le Mans/Alencon.

Rouen is a lovely place to get lost in, ask anyone.

[Jc]

The Rouen eastern by-pass gives excellent views of the goods-yards if you're interested in trains!!;follow it to the end,turn right and then follow the signs for Le Mans.

[Andrewjspencer]

whoops! Forgot about the "gap" through Rouen although the roads have

improved in the last few years with better signage etc. I agree it's

not nice getting lost round there although the rail yards must be

trainspotters heaven!

[PeterG]

I came up to Boulogne from Angers last weekend, alone. I didn't have to look at the map once. The signposting was superb even through Rouen. No traffic at all on the new A28. I can't help think though why for the sake of another 10 miles they didn't carry on an by pass Rouen to link up with the other motorways north of Rouen.

[Alcazar]

[quote user="Andrewjspencer"]whoops! Forgot about the "gap" through Rouen although the roads have improved in the last few years with better signage etc. I agree it's not nice getting lost round there although the rail yards must be trainspotters heaven!
[/quote]

We prefer the term "rail enthusiast".;)

Those yards are, indeed, interesting, but very difficult to see any details from the distance involved, and while driving.

Sotteville depot and Quatre Mars works are nearby too.

Alcazar

[Athene]

Thanks everyone for the posts! We are off on 18th December so hopefully we will benefit from the Tours bit! It is nearly always my turn to drive when we are doing Tours and the traffic is normally not good! I think himself will miss doing Paris ring road as he has  learnt over the years how to 'mix it' with the French and I think secretly relishes this ! I will not miss it one bit!

[Brilec]

[quote user="PeterG"]I came up to Boulogne from Angers last weekend, alone. I didn't have to look at the map once. The signposting was superb even through Rouen. No traffic at all on the new A28. I can't help think though why for the sake of another 10 miles they didn't carry on an by pass Rouen to link up with the other motorways north of Rouen.[/quote]

I believe that the Rouen bypass proper is still some years away. Pity.

[BJSLIV]

As of an hour ago the motorway should be open from Rouen all the way through to Bordeaux. Its free of charge for the section from Tours to Le Mans unrtil the weekend!

[davidov1]

I travelled from Confolens to Calais on the 19th dec.Once I got to Poitiers,it was motorway all the way apart from the wacky races round Rouen The toll charge from Tours to Rouen was 22 euros.The total toll charge was 36 euros for the whole journey. The new part of the A28 from Alecon to Rouen has very limited, if any, fueling stations ,there are signs diverting you off the A28 to filling stations .I did it in my landrover and it took about 8 hours in total at a steady 65 mph incliding stops for coffee.

[cabman]

I was chatting to a group of academics based in Rouen recently, and it was suggested that the stumbling block for completing the Rouen section of the A28 is construction cost.

Too many hills locally requiring expensive tunnels, cuttings and viaducts.

Discussions and plans are at an advanced state apparently.

[Thumper]

We used the new A28 for the first time back in October, two days after it opened. All a bit of a surprise really, heading north beyond Alençon and suddenly finding ourselves alone on a new section of motorway. We were heading for Caen, and soon discovered that the designated exit lies some way beyond Sées. Following the signs we were then directed to take a route via Haras du Pin to rejoin the usual road near Falaise. Last week, we came off at the old terminus near Alençon and found it much quicker - a Volvo with Jag in convoy had swept past our ancient Transit somewhere north of Le Mans, and took the motorway to Sées, but we arrived in Caen long before they did. (They had to pass us twice more before we reached the ferry - it helps to know the shortcuts when your van only does 60 tops!) 

We're now awaiting the opening of the motorway link between Falaise and Sées, which I think is destined for next year sometime, and then we'll have motorway to within fifteen minutes of the house from any Channel port. Must try the Le Mans-Tours section next time.

[Sevenup]

[quote user="Brilec"]

No it doesn't, there is a gap round Rouen. The bit from Le Mans to Tours will open on 16th December, so not long to wait.

From Calais, follow the signs to Rouen. When you get there, follow the signs firstly to Paris/Caen, then just Caen and Le Mans/Alencon.

Rouen is a lovely place to get lost in, ask anyone.

[/quote]

We always used to call it "The road to ruin". One time we went through there and got so lost we went past the industrial area over cobbles for a long way and ended up on a small ferry that crossed the river. It was very interesting and a good job we weren't in a hurry. But we did eventually get to Dieppe and catch the real ferry.

I've now learnt that the trick is to keep right as you get near Rouen from the South.