Works underway to complete Normandy motorway's barrier-free toll system
Drivers will still need to pay but all booths are expected to have been removed from the A13 by end of year
The A13 is set to be France’s busiest motorway to become an entirely barrier-free
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A new phase of works has begun on the A13 motorway between Normandy and the Parisian suburbs, set to make the entire route a barrier-free toll system (flux libre) by December 2024.
The works will see physical toll-booths gradually removed from the motorway, to be replaced with digital scanners that can check for electronic toll badges (télépéages), or otherwise scan a vehicle’s number plate so the driver can pay the toll online.
The 210-km motorway is the main corridor for drivers between Paris, its western suburbs, and Normandy.
Read more: LIST: where barrier-free motorway tolls are starting in France and when
Temporary safety barriers have already been put up by Sanef, the motorway operator, along the route as a safety measure for workers and drivers, and the works on the motorway should last “around three months”, the company said.
It aims for the barrier-free set-up to be fully operational before the end of 2024.
The A14, which connects the motorway to Paris, is already barrier-free.
Traffic expected during works
“In each direction of traffic, toll lanes to the right hand side will… make way for temporary traffic lanes,” Sanef said in a press release, although the number of lanes available will change depending on the location of the works.
Drivers can continue to pay via existing methods (at toll booths with cards, cash, or by scanning their télépéage cards) during this time.
Once the work is complete and the motorway is entirely free of physical toll booths, vehicles will again be able to drive through central lanes.
Work began on the Dozulé, Heudebouville and Buchelay toll booths at the beginning of September.
Two other barriers – Bourneville (A13/A131 interchange) and Beuzeville – saw work begin today (September 23).
Works on the final sections – Incarville, Toutainville, Bourg-Achard, Troarn, Cagny, and Quetteville – will begin in October.
The motorway operator is already warning that travel times may increase during the works, as the number of lanes available to drivers is temporarily reduced whilst the toll gantries are removed.
Traffic is forecast to be particularly heavy at the beginning of November, when the Toussaint (All Saints Day) public holiday on November 1 falls on a Friday.
To counteract this, in some locations the booths will be removed in phases, with more temporary lanes open to traffic until the holiday period is over.
Up to 120,000 vehicles pass through the motorway per day, according to Sanef.
More motorways become barrier-free
Barrier-free toll systems are being installed on motorways across France, although the A13 is the busiest road so far to be completely replacing physical booths.
The controversial A69 between Castres and Toulouse will also be barrier-free.
You can read our article on how to pay on barrier-free motorways, for both French and foreign-registered vehicles, below.
Read more: Will my toll badge work on French barrier-free motorways?
