The A47 autoroute is a highway in central

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Completed in 1983 it connects

Givors Givors (; ) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. Location It lies at the confluence of the Rhone and the Gier about south of Lyon and on the main road between that city and Saint-Étienne. ...

(Lyon) to

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

. It also serves the suburbs south-west of

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

and east of Saint-Étienne.

Characteristics

* Toll free motorway * 2x2 lanes * 45 km long

History

* 1953 and 1962: Opening of the central section between

Saint-Chamond St Chamond may refer to: * Saint Chamond otherwise Annemund, bishop of Lyon * Saint-Chamond, Loire, a French town named after him * Saint-Chamond (manufacturer), informal name for the ''Compagnie des forges et aciéries de la marine et d'Homéco ...

and

Rive-de-Gier Rive-de-Gier (, literally ''Bank of Gier (river), Gier''; ) is a Communes of the Loire department, commune in the Loire (department), Loire Departments of France, department in central France. In 2020, with a population of 15,086 inhabitants and ...

(current Junction 11). * 1970: Opening of an extension to Givors. In Givors, A47 is built on the site of an old road, which makes it run close to neighbouring buildings creating

noise pollution Noise pollution, or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise or sound with potential harmful effects on humans and animals. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is mainly caused by machines, transport and propagation systems.Senate Publi ...

. * 1983: Opening of the short section between

and the junction with the A7 and A46 autoroutes. As a result, Lyon and St-Etienne are linked totally by motorway from beginning to end. * 1991: Opening of the St-Chamond by-pass. The old A47 through St-Chamond was re-numbered the D288 (expressway). * 1998: For the Football World Cup the section between St-Chamond and St-Etienne was widened to 2x3 lanes but this section is numbered the RN88.

Future

There are plans to transform sections of the A47 into an urban boulevard if the A45 to Lyon and Saint-Etienne, bypassing Givors, is built.

Junctions

External links

A47 autoroute
in Saratlas {{Authority control A47