The A84 autoroute is a major motorway in western

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

completed on 27 January 2003 to connect the cities of

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine departme ...

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

with

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Lower Normandy Lower Normandy (french: Basse-Normandie, ; nrf, Basse-Normaundie) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Lower and Upper Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy. Geography The region included three departme ...

. It is part of the ''Autoroute des Estuaires'' from Belgium to Spain, avoiding

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

Characteristics

The motorway, 170 km long, cost a total of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

650 million. It is

dual-carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

both ways on its entire course and service areas are positioned at regular intervals. It is toll free. The motorway was built with a special road surface to allow rain water to run off quickly, but it is ineffective with snow that often falls in large quantities in winter, so snowplows are employed regularly. Motorway traffic radio 107.7 broadcasts A84 information specifically. * 2 × 2 carriageway * 170 km in length * Total cost : €650 000 000 (2003) * 3 speed camera zones * 5 service areas (Aires de service et repos): ** l'aire du mont Saint-Michel (Total), Saint-Aubin-de-Terregatte ** l'aire de la Baie, Braffais ** l'aire de la vallée de la Vire (Shell), Gouvets ** l'aire de Cahagnes, Cahagnes ** l'aire de Saint-Jean des Essartiers, Saint-Jean-des-Essartiers The highway is free throughout its entire length. The various governments have studied the concession of this highway, but the regional authorities of Brittany and Normandy have convinced the public authorities to build and manage this highway with public funds.

History

* 1979: Ministerial decision to upgrade the road between

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Avranches Avranches (; nrf, Avraunches) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called ''Avranchinais''. History By the end of the Roman period ...

dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

. * 1987: Decision by the CIAT to connect Caen, Rennes and Nantes by motorway ensuring the continuity of the French motorway network. * 1994: The connections between Caen and Avranches and Avranches and Rennes are declared of public utility. * 27 January 2003: Opening of the last section of the A84 except the Rennes and Avranches bypasses.

Route

List of junctions

Future extensions

The A84 is interrupted at Avranches. The bypass to the west of Avranches, by the RN 175 with two double lanes, has geometrical characteristics which do not allow the construction of motorway characteristics and status. An East motorway bypass for the A84 was therefore planned in the long term. The State bought 60 hectares of land and destroyed four houses along the route. However, the works are yet be launched. The land is still owned by the state. The A84 is also to be extended to Nantes by upgrading the RN 137 dual-carriageway, thus creating a Caen-Rennes-Nantes route. This was abandoned, along with other projects of dual-carriageway upgrades in Brittany ( RN 157 and RN 12 were planned to become A81 and RN 165 was planned to become A82). In addition at Rennes, the construction of a "south-east bypass" will make it possible to avoid the Rennes ring-road on this route. Construction was due to commence from 2021 but was abandoned.

External links

A84 Motorway information
in Saratlas

References

{{Autoroutes A84