Autoroute 13, or L'Autoroute de Normandie links Paris to Caen, Calvados.

A13 autoroute shield
A13 autoroute
Route information
Part of E46
Length225 km (140 mi)
Existed1946–present
Major junctions
West endPériphérique Caen
Major intersections
East endPériphérique, Paris
Location
CountryFrance
Major citiesMantes-la-Jolie, Rouen, Pont-l'Évêque, Caen
Highway system
  • Roads in France

The motorway starts in Paris at the Porte d'Auteuil, a former gate of the Paris walls, and ends at Mondeville's Mondeville 2 (Porte de Paris) exchange junction on the Boulevard Périphérique (Caen). The A13 is France's oldest motorway (opening in 1946) and is intensively used between Paris and Normandy for both commuting and holiday makers. The A13 is operated by the Société des Autoroutes de Paris Normandie from Buchelay toll onwards, whilst the Parisian stretch of motorway is operated by the Île-de-France Council. Its total length is 225 km (140 mi). The A13 is toll-free within the Île-de-France region and between junctions 21 and 24 to the south of Rouen.

History

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The France carried out its first studies in 1927 to create the l'Autoroute de l'Ouest that was to connect the capital to Normandy.[1] In addition, Le Havre and Cherbourg were important stopovers for luxury liners at a time when there were few commercial aircraft. Delayed by the historic nature of Parc de Saint-Cloud, the project was declared a public utility on 5 May 1935.[2] The initial highway was planned with a start at the Pont de Saint-Cloud and heading west to Rocquencourt where it would connect to the old N190 route to Orgeval and old N10 route to Trappes.[2] This new route was accompanied by the reconstruction of the Pont de Saint-Cloud and was completed in April 1940.[3] The other major project was the 800m Saint-Cloud tunnel that was to open at the end of 1940 but German occupation of France ended its completion and it was used as storage for weapons.[4] The route, from Saint-Cloud-Ouest to Vaucresson in the direction of Orgeval, was opened to the public on 4 October 1941.[1] The tunnel works resumed from October 1945, with the tunnel surfaced and tiled.[4]

The complex was opened to traffic on 9 June 1946 on the occasion of the first post-war motor race.[1] The highway was completely free, financed entirely from state funds. At the Triangle de Rocquencourt, the exit to Trappes was via a ramp on the left, which was a curiosity, as traffic was on the right.[5] This highway was credited until the 1960s with one star in the Michelin green guide Environs de Paris, because of its absolute modernity and novelty.

The French motorways were then named in relation to the national roads they run along, hence the A13 due to the proximity of the N13.

The decree of 12 June 1967 declared the construction of the motorway between Rouen (Les Essarts) and Caen to be a public utility.

Until 1974, the A13 stopped at the Pont de Saint-Cloud.[1] Since then, it has been connected to the Paris ring road by the Saint-Cloud viaduct overlooking the Seine and by a tunnel under the northern Boulogne-Billancourt, cutting through the garden of Château Rothschild.[1]

As part of the connection of the A86 motorway, the first part of the 10 km tunnel, known as the Duplex A86 [fr], between Rueil-Malmaison and Vaucresson which was put into service in June 2009 ,[6] it was decided to add a fourth lane in both directions and to install acoustic screens between the A13/A86 interchange and the Triangle de Rocquencourt. The interchanges between the A13 and A12 on one side and the A13 and RN 186 on the other, were redeveloped to improve traffic flow. The fourth lane in the westbound direction from Paris provides easy access to the Triangle de Rocquencourt. It was inaugurated in January 2011. The fourth lane in an eastbound direction to Paris was inaugurated in July 2011. The six-month delay was explained by the need to build "a mobile guardrail on this fourth lane" which is a lane assigned to the Duplex A86 tunnel.

On 3 September 2019, after three years of construction (2016-2019), a third overpass at the Guerville viaduct was commissioned in the eastbound direction to Paris, renovated the two existing overpasses (direction westbound) dating from the 1960s, without cutting off traffic.[7]

List of junctions

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Region Department Location km mi Junction Destinations Notes
Normandy Calvados Caen 0.0 0.0   N 814 - 1. Porte de Paris Deauville-Trouville / Le Havre / Rouen / Paris
Manneville 3.7 2.3   A 813 Frenouville / Bellengreville / Mezidon-Canon
Troarn 7.4 4.6   D 675 - Junction 31 Sannerville / Troarn
Cricqueville-en-Auge 18.1 11.2   D 400 - Junction 30 Dozule / Dives sur Mer / Cabourg / Houlgate
Drubec 33.2 20.6     D 16 / D 58 / D 675 - Junction 29A Drubec / Villers sur Mer / St. Pierre sur Dives Eastbound entry only / Westbound exit only
Pont-l'Évêque 40.9 25.4    A 132 / D 579 - Pont-l'Évêque Deauville-Trouville / Pont-l'Évêque / Lisieux
Eure Beuzeville 49.9 31.0   A 29 Pont de Normandie / Honfleur / Le Havre / Amiens / Calais
54.3 33.7   D 675 - Junction 28 Beuzeville / Pont Audemer
Toutainville 64.4 40.0   D 675 Toutainville Eastbound entry only / Westbound exit only
Bourneville-Sainte-Croix 76.3 47.4   A 131 Eastbound entry / Westbound exit
77.5 48.1   D 89 - Junction 26 Brionne / Pont-Audemer - Est
Bourg-Achard 90.5 56.2   D 313 - Junction 25 Bourg-Achard / Yvetot
Honguemare-Guenouville 91.4 56.8   A 28 Alençon / Le Mans / Bordeaux
Saint-Ouen-de-Thouberville 99.2 61.6   D 438 - Junction 24 Bourgtheroulde Bourgtheroulde / Caen / Alençon
Seine-Maritime Grand-Couronne 103.0 64.0   N 138 - Junction 23 Rouen-Ouest / Grand-Couronne / Elbeuf / Rouen-Centre Eastbound exit only / Westbound entry only
Oissel 109.0 67.7   A 139 Rouen (westbound) Eastbound entry only / Westbound exit only
110.0 68.3 D 18e- Junction 22 Oissel Rouen-est / Amiens-Riems / Calais
Tourville-la-Rivière 112.0 69.6   D 7 - Junction 21 Ctre Commercial Region Cleon / Elbeuf-centre
Eure Criquebeuf-sur-Seine 115.0 71.4   D 321 - Junction 20 Pont de l'Arche / Elbeuf-est / Vernon
Val-de-Reuil 123.0 76.4   A 154 / D 6154 - Junction 19 Louviers / Val de Reuil / Orleans / Évreux
Heudebouville 131.0 81.4 D 6155 - Junction 18 Louviers Eastbound entry only / Westbound exit only
Saint-Aubin-sur-Gaillon 139.0 86.3   D 316 - Junction 17 Les Andelys / Gaillon
La Heunière 151.0 93.8   D 181 - Junction 16 Pacy sur Eure / Vernon
Île-de-France Yvelines La Villeneuve-en-Chevrie 158.0 98.1    N 13 / D 113 - Junction 15 Bonnieres
Rosny-sur-Seine 166.0 103.1   A 13a - Junction 14 Bonnieres
Buchelay 173.0 107.5   D 110 - Junction 13 Mantes-Quest Vernon / Évreux Eastbound entry only / Westbound exit only
Mantes-la-Ville 174.0 108.1   D 928 - Junction 12 Mantes-Sud Mantes-la-Ville / Limay / Guerville
176.0 109.3   D 983 - Junction 11 Mantes-Est Mantes la Ville / Limay / Guerville
Épône 183.0 113.7   D 130 - Junction 10 Rambouillet
Flins-sur-Seine 187.0 116.1   D 19 - Junction 9 Aubergenville / Flins
Bouafle 190.0 118.0   D 44 - Junction 8 Ecquevilly / Bouafle / Les Mureaux-Meulan Eastbound exit only / Westbound entry only
Chapet 192.0 119.3   D 43 - Junction 8 Ecquevilly / Les Mureaux-Meulan Eastbound entry only / Westbound exit only
Orgeval 198.0 123.0   D 153 - Junction 7 La Defense / Nanterre / St-Germain-en-Laye / Poissy
200.0 124.6   A 14 La Defense / Nanterre / St-Germain-en-Laye Eastbound exit only / Westbound entry only
Bailly / Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt 211.0 131.0   A 12 Trappes
212.0 131.7    N 186 / D 186 - Junction 6 Versailles-Centre / Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Hauts-de-Seine Vaucresson 215.0 133.5   A 86 Nanterre / Creteil
216.0 134.2   D 182 - Junction 5 Vaucresson / Versailles-Montreuil
Saint-Cloud 220.0 136.6   D 985 - Junction 4 Saint-Cloud / Ville-d'Avray Eastbound exit only
221.0 137.3    D 7 / D 907 - Junction 3 Sèvres Saint-Cloud / Pont de Saint-Cloud
Boulogne-Billancourt 222.0 137.9   D 1 - Junction 2 Boulogne-Billancourt Eastbound exit only
Paris Paris 16 223.0 138.5 Av. de la Prte d'Auteuil - Junction 1 Boulogne-Billancourt Eastbound exit only
224.0 139.1 Boulevard Périphérique Lille / Metz-Nancy / Lyon
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "L'A13, la plus ancienne autoroute de France". GPSEO - Communauté urbaine Grand Paris Seine & Oise (in French). 18 January 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Ministere des Travaux Publics". Journal officiel de la République française. Lois et décrets (in French). 0106: 4853. 5 May 1935.
  3. ^ "Pont dit Pont de Saint-Cloud". POP : la plateforme ouverte du patrimoine. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  4. ^ a b "l'histoire de l'autoroute". www.info-autoroute.com. Archived from the original on 2016-01-04. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
  5. ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
  6. ^ "Duplex A86". VINCI Autoroutes (in French). Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  7. ^ "TIC TAC… Le nouveau tablier du viaduc de Guerville sur A13 est ouvert !". Sanef (in French). Retrieved 21 September 2022.
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