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The A26 is a long French motorway connecting
Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...
and
Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...
. It is also known as the Autoroute des Anglais (''Motorway of the English'') as its length forms the first part of the main route from the
Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
-Calais ferries and the
Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles ( Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. ...
towards Southern and Eastern France and the
Cote d'Azur The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...
. The motorway is used by a high proportion of
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
cars, particularly during the summer holiday season. The A26 between Calais and
Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...
(in conjunction with the
A1 autoroute The A1 Autoroute, also known as l'autoroute du Nord (the Northern Motorway), is the busiest of France's autoroutes. With a length of , it connects Paris with the northern city of Lille. It is managed by the Société des Autoroutes du Nord et d ...
) is part of one of the two main routes between
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and
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. S ...
, the other being the A16. The road forms part of
European route The international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The network is numbered from E1 up and its roads ...
E-15 E15, E-15, E.15 or E 15 may refer to: Places * European route E15 * E15, a district in the London, England E postcode area * E15, a numeronym for the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland * E15, the MIT Media Lab building * Monzen-Nakachō Station o ...
and E-17. South of its junction with the
A29 autoroute The A 29 is a major toll motorway in Normandy and Picardy, northwestern and northern France. The road is also part of European route E44. From its western interchange with the A28 autoroute until its junction with the A26 autoroute, part of the ...
the A26 is part of the
Grand contournement de Paris 400px, thumb The grand contournement de Paris (French for "Great Paris Bypass") is the fourth ring road around Paris, enclosing the three other ring roads ( Périphérique, the A86, and the Francilienne). The Grand Contournement is actually comp ...
.


History of the A26

The A26 was conceived in the 1960s as an upgrade to the "
Grand Itineraire Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...
" Calais-
Vitry-le-François Vitry-le-François () is a commune in the Marne department in northeastern France. It is located on the river Marne and is the western terminus of the Marne–Rhine Canal. Vitry-le-François station has rail connections to Paris, Reims, Strasbour ...
which followed mostly the N44. The first part of the motorway opened in December 1976 with the 23 km section from junction 5 at Lilliers to the A21 exit at Lievin. Subsequently, the 261 km Calais-
Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...
stretch was opened in stages, the final one completed in March 1989. By the time the 96 km southern extension connecting the
A4 autoroute The A4 Autoroute, also known as autoroute de l'Est (), is a French '' autoroute'' that travels between the cities of Paris and Strasbourg. It forms parts of European routes E25 and E50. It is France's second longest after the A10 autoroute. ...
and
A5 autoroute The A5 Autoroute, which was constructed in 1990 to relieve the A6, links the Parisian region with the Langres area. It is a 238 km toll road under the management of the Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhône (APRR). It makes up parts of the European ...
opened in June 1992 it was the final link in the first continuous motorway route from Calais to
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
and the Cote d'Azur that completely bypassed the
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. S ...
area with its associated congestion, reducing driving time from Calais to
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
by approximately 90 minutes to around 6 hours. This section also made up the final part of an uninterrupted motorway route between the major cities of
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
/
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
and
Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
without having to drive via either Paris or
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. The road in its current form was completed in 2010 with the short extension southward from the old
A4 autoroute The A4 Autoroute, also known as autoroute de l'Est (), is a French '' autoroute'' that travels between the cities of Paris and Strasbourg. It forms parts of European routes E25 and E50. It is France's second longest after the A10 autoroute. ...
which ran through the centre of
Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...
(now marked A344) to the new A4 southern bypass of the city ( Contournement de Reims Sud) along with the construction of the new closed system
peage The ''autoroute'' (, highway or motorway) system in France consists largely of toll roads (76% of the total). It is a network of of motorways as of 2014. On road signs, autoroute destinations are shown in blue, while destinations reached through ...
station at Ormes.


Route

The northern end of the motorway starts just to the southeast of Calais, at a junction with the A16 (5 km east of the
Eurotunnel Getlink, formerly Groupe Eurotunnel, is a European public company based in Paris that manages and operates the infrastructure of the Channel Tunnel between England and France, operates the Eurotunnel Shuttle train service, and earns revenue on ...
exit) and A216/ N216 (which links to the
Port of Calais The Port of Calais in northern France is the fourth largest port in France and the largest for passenger traffic. It accounts for more than a third of economic activity in the town of Calais. Background The Port of Calais was the first cable ...
and the car ferries). From there it runs southeast past
Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...
,
Béthune Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a city in northern France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department. Geography Béthune is located in the former province of Artois. It is situated south-east of Calais, ...
,
Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...
and
Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...
. Near Arras is a major intersection with the A1, which runs south to Paris. The A26 continues southeast, passing near
Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...
, Saint-Quentin and
Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The holy district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance. In ...
before meeting the A4 at
Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...
. The two motorways merge (multiplex) for , although for the merged section the route is marked A4, before splitting up again near
Châlons-en-Champagne Châlons-en-Champagne () is a city in the Grand Est region of France. It is the capital of the department of Marne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Reims. Formerly called Châlons-sur-Marne, the city was officially renam ...
(formerly Châlons-sur-Marne). The A4 then continues eastwards to
Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...
, Nancy and
Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
and the A26 branches to the south toward
Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...
and
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
. The current southern terminus of the A26 is just to the southeast of Troyes where the motorway meets the A5, which provides a direct motorway connection to
Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...
, Lyon, southern and eastern France as well as
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
and
The Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
. The A26 is a toll (
peage The ''autoroute'' (, highway or motorway) system in France consists largely of toll roads (76% of the total). It is a network of of motorways as of 2014. On road signs, autoroute destinations are shown in blue, while destinations reached through ...
) motorway for all but junctions 1 to 3 (A16 to St. Omer) and a short section circling western
Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...
. The vast majority is maintained by SANEF except the very southern end south of junction 21 which is operated by APRR. There are 3 major (closed system) peage stations at Setques (St. Omer), Courcy (Reims Nord) and Ormes (Reims Sud).


Regions traversed

Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost Regions of France, region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its Prefectu ...
Grand Est Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten; Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administrat ...


Departements traversed

Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...
(62) •
Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...
(59) •
Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.Somme (80) •
Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nethe ...
(51) •
Aube Aube () is a French department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019),SANEF 107.7 traffic coverage: North of Reims, it is in the northern zone and South of Reims, it is within the eastern zone.


Characteristics

The A26 is 2x2 lanes throughout and passes close to some of the most well known
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
battle sites as well as through the vineyards of the
Champagne-Ardennes Champagne-Ardenne () is a former administrative region of France, located in the northeast of the country, bordering Belgium. Mostly corresponding to the historic province of Champagne, the region is known for its sparkling white wine of th ...
area (which is now part of the Grand-Est region). It is built on mainly relatively flat, agricultural land and has many long, fairly straight sections and few steep gradients as a result. It crosses over, as well as through the valleys of the rivers Aa, Lys, Somme and
Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nethe ...
as well as le
Méridienne verte The ''Méridienne verte'' (Green Meridian) is a project devised by the architect Paul Chemetov for the 2000 celebration in France. It involved marking on the ground the Paris Meridian crossing France from North to South (from Dunkerque in Nord-P ...
, a millennium project to plant a line of trees the length of France along the
Paris Meridian The Paris meridian is a meridian line running through the Paris Observatory in Paris, France – now longitude 2°20′14.02500″ East. It was a long-standing rival to the Greenwich meridian as the prime meridian of the world. The "Paris merid ...
. The northern section of the motorway can be prone to strong crosswinds and heavy downpours and there are large wind turbines and windsocks visible throughout the whole length of the road. The motorway is characterised by European signage in brown pointing out sites of historical and cultural interest along its route. It is usually not one of the more congested routes on the French autoroute network. Like many
autoroutes of France The ''autoroute'' (, highway or motorway) system in France consists largely of toll roads (76% of the total). It is a network of of motorways as of 2014. On road signs, autoroute destinations are shown in blue, while destinations reached through ...
the A26 is completely unlit, relying on heavily fluorescent road markings to guide drivers at night. The road is well surfaced and maintained in comparison to most other countries' motorways. Signage is typical of the French system where destination is given strong prominence over road designation and signs are completely capitalised. After each junction there are two marker boards at the side of the road: Firstly, a white sign with information about the next exit with distance to it and the destinations it serves and secondly, a blue sign with distances to the motorway's main and onward destinations. Overhead gantries display destinations before the larger junctions and digital overhead gantries provide live information on anything from traffic, accidents and breakdowns to the weather. As with other autoroutes in France, along the central reservation every one hundred metres is a small sign showing the distance from the start of the motorway, starting with 0.1 km at Calais and ending with 394.0 km at Troyes. Along the 36 km stretch merged with the A4 these signs are not present as the distance markers for the A4 itself are given priority. They resume once the motorways split with the 36 km difference in distance taken into account. In order to continue along the A26 northbound or southbound after the 36 km stretch merged with the
A4 autoroute The A4 Autoroute, also known as autoroute de l'Est (), is a French '' autoroute'' that travels between the cities of Paris and Strasbourg. It forms parts of European routes E25 and E50. It is France's second longest after the A10 autoroute. ...
, drivers must take the exit slips from the A4 at Reims (northbound) or
Châlons-en-Champagne Châlons-en-Champagne () is a city in the Grand Est region of France. It is the capital of the department of Marne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Reims. Formerly called Châlons-sur-Marne, the city was officially renam ...
(southbound). Since the mid 2000s the final aire on the northbound side (Nortkerque) has been permanently closed due to its use by migrants as a boarding point onto parked freight vehicles heading for the UK. Since 2018 the Aire de Villefleur, the penultimate northbound aire has also been closed for the same reason. There are semi-permanent red and white plastic barriers in place to prevent entry to the aires. There is signage to warn northbound motorists that St. Hilaire-Cottes is the final chance to stop before the end of the motorway.


Opening Dates

03 12 1976 : Section Lillers - Liévin (Junction 5 - A21) 23 09 1977 : Section Liévin - Plouvain (A21 - A1) 20 12 1981 : Section Setques - Lillers (Junctions 3 to 5) 10 11 1982 : Section Plouvain - La Vacquerie (A1 - Junction 9) 11 08 1983 : Section Nordausques - Setques (Junctions 2 to 3) 27 07 1985 : Section La Vacquerie - Saint-Quentin-Nord (Junctions 9 to 10) 29 11 1985 : Section Saint-Quentin-Nord - Grugies (Junctions 10 to 11) 07 07 1987 : Section Grugies - Laon (Junctions 11 to 13) 16 12 1988 : Section Calais - Nordausques (A16 - Junction 2) 24 03 1989 : Section Laon - Thillois (Junction 13 - A344) 30 06 1992 : Section Les Grandes-Loges - Montaulin (A4-Est - A5) 23 11 2010 : Section Thillois - Ormes (A344 - A4-Ouest)


Junctions


Future

For some years there have been plans to extend the A26 to
Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are r ...
after 2025. and perhaps to
Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...
thereafter but that is not programmed before 2030. The extension would, if completed, replace N77 and N151 as part of the second version of the
Grand contournement de Paris 400px, thumb The grand contournement de Paris (French for "Great Paris Bypass") is the fourth ring road around Paris, enclosing the three other ring roads ( Périphérique, the A86, and the Francilienne). The Grand Contournement is actually comp ...
, upgrading the south-eastern section of the ring road to motorway standard.


References


External links


A26 autoroute in Saratlas
{{Autoroutes
A26 A26 or A-26 may refer to: Roads * List of A26 roads Transportation * Douglas A-26 Invader, a light attack bomber built by Douglas * Aero A.26, a Czech reconnaissance aircraft of the 1920s * Focke-Wulf A 26, a German Focke-Wulf aircraft * Blekinge- ...