Free A14, reinforced buses, trains… What does the government plan for those castaway from the A13?

The Minister of Transport grits his teeth before the closure of the A13. “Things can’t be going well. The idea is that they go as smoothly as possible,” declared Philippe Tabarot this Thursday, November 5, during a press briefing on the support measures that will be offered to users. Due to work on the Saint-Cloud tunnel (Hauts-de-Seine), the motorway will be closed in the Paris-Province direction from November 16, 2026 to August 31, 2027. Every day, 80,000 motorists use this axis and now fear transport hassles, or even hell, on alternative routes.

First measure to relieve motorists: free use of the A14. “A significant portion of traffic will shift to the A14,” anticipates the Minister of Transport. This free service will be offered to passenger cars and light commercial vehicles from Monday at 12:01 a.m. until Friday at 11:59 p.m. “Without any steps to take or subscription to take out,” promised Philippe Tabarot. Public holidays and weekends will remain chargeable. In exchange for this measure, Sanef will receive a payment from the State, the amount of which must still be negotiated.

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No free service yet on the A86 but…

Heavy goods vehicles will not be able to take advantage of this measure, to encourage them to take other routes. Work on alternative routes will also be limited as much as possible and carried out at night when necessary. State services also mentioned postponements of work on access to the Sèvres bridge, access to the N118, access to the town of Sèvres and on the Neuilly bridge.

Regarding the A86, a price drop is not planned for the moment but is not completely ruled out. State services have described “congestion difficulties” on this axis and do not wish to worsen them due to a price reduction.

The State hopes for a significant shift towards public transport

The authorities hope that many motorists will switch to public transport. In 2024, when the A13 closed due to a major crack, the modal shift was only 7%. The public authorities hope to double this rate by anticipating more and communicating more. “The rail offer to the west of Paris has capacity of up to 50% of A13 users,” estimates the Minister of Transport. “At an unchanged frequency, the transport capacities are very significant,” added the prefecture of the Île-de-France region, mentioning the C, L, N and U.

The number of trains should therefore not be increased. Including towards Rouen, Caen, Le Havre and Cherbourg where the supply is considered sufficient. On the other hand, the Ministry of Transport has announced several measures to strengthen the reliability of public transport. “The SNCF must be exemplary in terms of the quality of service,” insisted Philippe Tabarot. This will notably involve pre-positioned intervention teams that can be “quickly mobilized in the event of hazards”. Regarding buses, the offer will be reinforced with five additional passages during peak hours on lines 7815 and 5117.

A monitoring committee will be set up from November 20 with local authorities, state services and transport operators to examine the real impact of the closure of the A13. Setting up two-way traffic on the other direction of the A13 remains excluded for safety reasons. “This is a file that I would have been tempted to let my successor deal with,” said Philippe Tabarot, before adding that the work was “essential” in this tunnel which dates back to 1930. “We must not wait when it comes to safety,” insisted the Île-de-France prefecture, ensuring that the risks of unexpected ruptures in the tunnel could further complicate the lives of motorists. Monday, November 9, the minister will visit the site to launch the work.

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Normally, the work will be finished at the end of summer 2027, on August 31. The government has left itself some leeway to anticipate possible work delays. If all goes well, the A13 could even reopen sooner. If all goes well.