The A89 autoroute is an
autoroute in central
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. It is known as the ''La Transeuropéenne''. It connects
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...
(from
Libourne
Libourne (; oc, label= Gascon, Liborna ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
It is the wine-making capital of northern Gironde and lies near Saint-Ém ...
) and
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
(at
Limonest
Limonest () is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France.
Geography
Limonest is located northwest of Lyon in the Monts d'Or hills. Its people are known as the ''Limonois''.
See also
*Communes of t ...
) via
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attract ...
. Its total length is 544 km (338 mi).
The project started in 1991 and was completed in 2018. It is composed of a new road construction and the re-use of a large part of the A72 built in the 1980s. The autoroute has taken the number of the national road it runs along, the N89.
Of the 544 kilometers in service: 167 km is between Libourne and
Brive, 175 km between
Saint-Germain-les-Vergnes
Saint-Germain-les-Vergnes (; oc, Sent German las Vernhas) is a commune in the Corrèze department in central France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Corrèze department
The following is a list of the 279 communes of the Corrèze d ...
and
Combronde and 143 km between Clermont-Ferrand and Limonest. It is a concession of the ''Autoroutes du Sud de la France'' with the exception of the last section, 5 km between
La Tour-de-Salvagny
La Tour-de-Salvagny () is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. It borders Parc de Lacroix-Laval in Marcy-l'Étoile.
See also
*Communes of the Metropolis of Lyon
The following is a list of the ...
and Limonest was conceded to ''Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhône''.
In order to ensure the continuity of the numbers, following the opening of the section between the Saint-Julien-Sancy interchange and the Combronde junction in early 2006, the common core of the
A71 motorway now bears both names (A71-A89), while the A710 and
A72 autoroutes between Clermont-Ferrand and
Balbigny
Balbigny () is a commune in the Loire department in central France.
History
Balbigny owes its name to a Roman general named Balbinius who based himself here in order to conduct a war. Nothing survives from this period. The earliest identified ...
, have been renamed the A89.
History
This transversal autoroute was intended as a powerful tool to open up the center of France, previously connected only to Paris, and a faster link between the second and sixth largest urban areas of France, that of Lyon and Bordeaux. Its commercial name is therefore ''La Transeuropéenne''. It is also nicknamed the ''Autoroute des Présidents'' because it crosses the fiefdoms of several French Presidents,
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, , ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981.
After serving as Minister of Finance under prime ...
,
Jacques Chirac and
Francois Hollande, and it passes close to that of
Georges Pompidou
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( , ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously was Prime Minister of France of President Charles de Gaulle from 1962 to 196 ...
. Because of the environmental sensitivity of the ''Parc naturel régional des volcans d'Auvergne'' especially the visual impact of such work, it was chosen not to cross the
Chaîne des Puys
The Chaîne des Puys () is a north-south oriented chain of cinder cones, lava domes, and maars in the Massif Central of France. The chain is about 40 km (25 mi) long, and the identified volcanic features, which constitute a volcanic ...
in the middle. As it approached the area, the autoroute heads north-east to get around the volcanoes, depriving Clermont-Ferrand of direct access to the autoroute from the west.
Open sections
The A89 motorway is divided into several sections:
* Libourne - Périgueux - Thenon - Terrasson-Lavilledieu - Brive;
* Saint-Germain-les-Vergnes - Tulle - Ussel - Saint-Julien-Puy-Lavèze - Combronde;
* Combronde - Clermont-Ferrand: common link (double numbered) by the A71;
* Clermont-Ferrand - Thiers - Balbigny (formerly A72, renamed A89 in 2006);
* Balbigny - The Tour-de-Salvagny.
The section of Arveyres at Saint-Julien-Puy-Lavèze, 288 km long, was declared a public utility on 10 January 1996. The section between Peyrignac and Cublac was also on 12 July 2005.
Section from Balbigny to La Tour-de-Salvagny
Work began on 28 June 2008 with the digging of the first 3.9 km tunnel between
Violay (
Loire
The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...
) and
Joux (
Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
). From a distance of 49.5 km, including 31.5 km in the Loire, this motorway section also connected
Roanne
Roanne (; frp, Rouana; oc, Roana) is a commune in the Loire department, central France.
It is located northwest of Lyon on the river Loire. It has an important Museum, the ''Musée des Beaux-arts et d'Archéologie Joseph-Déchelette'' (Fre ...
to
La Tour-de-Salvagny
La Tour-de-Salvagny () is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. It borders Parc de Lacroix-Laval in Marcy-l'Étoile.
See also
*Communes of the Metropolis of Lyon
The following is a list of the ...
at the entry to Lyon, via
Balbigny
Balbigny () is a commune in the Loire department in central France.
History
Balbigny owes its name to a Roman general named Balbinius who based himself here in order to conduct a war. Nothing survives from this period. The earliest identified ...
. The project cost €1.5 billion.
In September 2010, the Viaduc du Torranchin at
Pontcharra-sur-Turdine was the first structure completed on this section. This 196-meter-long, 21.55-meter-wide structure, costing €11 million, was built by Eiffage Travaux Publics, Eiffel Construction Métallique and the Forézienne d'Entreprises.
In total, ten exceptional structures were built: seven
viaducts
A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide va ...
, the most spectacular of which is the Viaduc de Goutte Vignole (618 meters), and three tunnels: Tunnel de Violay (3 900 m), tunnel of La Bussière ( 1,050 m) and the Chalosset tunnel (750 m). The A89 has 2 × 3 lanes of 5 km on each side of the Tunnel de Violay.
This section, however, was included in the national master plan for infrastructure in the 1970s, before being abandoned in 1975 following the oil crisis. The section, crossing the sectors of the lower valley of the
Azergues
The Azergues () is a river in the department of Rhône, eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Saône, which it joins in Anse. It is long. Its source is in the Beaujolais hills, near Chénelette. The Azergues flows through the following ...
and
Beaujolais
Beaujolais ( , ) is a French ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) wine generally made of the Gamay grape, which has a thin skin and is low in tannins. Like most AOC wines they are not labeled varietally. Whites from the region, which mak ...
, were contested by the agricultural areas and by a strong urban area (near
Villefranche-sur-Saône
Villefranche-sur-Saône (, ; frp, Velafranche) is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.
It lies 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the river Saône, and is around north of Lyon. The inhabitants of the town are called ''Caladois''.
...
). Despite the refusal by the associations, including a coordinating committee against the highway in Beaujolais (3CAB), which preferred the development of a national road with 2 × 2 lanes, the preliminary design studies summary still took place in 1997. The public inquiry was launched in June 1997 and the commission of inquiry gave a favorable opinion for the realisation of this section of highway. The procedure, leading to a declaration for public use, was not pursued according to a press release of 5 January 1999, following environmental difficulties as contained in the CIADT of 15 December 1998. The project then cost 11 billion francs. Twenty residents associations were formed against this highway between 1987 and 1995. This section, up to La Tour-de-Salvagny, was declared a public utility on 17 April 2003. The section was inaugurated on 19 January 2013 and opened two days later.
Section between the A20 and Saint-Germain-les-Vergnes
A press release from the Corrèze Prefecture, dated 15 May 2006, confirmed the extension of the A89, north of Brive-la-Gaillarde, by 2 × 2 lanes of the D9 by 2012–2013 to A20 with a possible 2 × 3 lanes depending on the future road traffic. This meant the definitive abandonment of the stretch between Saint-Germain-les-Vergnes and Brive-Nord, which cosigned with the A20.
The 4.5 km section was inaugurated on 7 February 2015 by François Hollande, President of the Republic, and put into service on 17 April 2015.
Section between La Tour-de-Salvagny and Limonest
On 4 April 2016, the work to construct the A89 link at La Tour-de-Salvagny with the
A6 at Limonest began. This section opened on 3 March 2018, ensuring continuity with not only the A6 but also the
A46 via the A466 motorway.
Municipal councilors, associations,
the Urban Community of Lyon chaired by Gérard Collomb, the Rhône Department and other organizations opposed this connection by proposing an alternative to
Anse/
Quincieux (A46N), which would have reduced the traffic from the A89 on the already saturated Tunnel de Fourvière.
Planned sections
* Remodeling the interchange with the
A630 Bordeaux ring road (Rocade).
* Upgrade of the highway status of the N89 between Bordeaux and Libourne.
* Offshoot of Saint-Beauzire (A71 - A89 link for the northern bypass of Clermont-Ferrand) - 7 km
Route
Completed sections
* Antenne de
Balbigny
Balbigny () is a commune in the Loire department in central France.
History
Balbigny owes its name to a Roman general named Balbinius who based himself here in order to conduct a war. Nothing survives from this period. The earliest identified ...
*
Combronde-
Saint-Julien-Puy-Lavèze-
Ussel-
Tulle
Tulle (; ) is a commune in central France. It is the third-largest town in the former region of Limousin and is the capital of the department of Corrèze, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Tulle is also the episcopal see of the Roman Cat ...
-
Saint-Germain-les-Vergnes
Saint-Germain-les-Vergnes (; oc, Sent German las Vernhas) is a commune in the Corrèze department in central France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Corrèze department
The following is a list of the 279 communes of the Corrèze d ...
*
Brive-
Terrasson-Lavilledieu
*
Thenon-
Périgueux
Périgueux (, ; oc, Peireguers or ) is a commune in the Dordogne department, in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France.
Périgueux is the prefecture of Dordogne, and the capital city of Périgord. It is al ...
-
Libourne
Libourne (; oc, label= Gascon, Liborna ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
It is the wine-making capital of northern Gironde and lies near Saint-Ém ...
*
Balbigny
Balbigny () is a commune in the Loire department in central France.
History
Balbigny owes its name to a Roman general named Balbinius who based himself here in order to conduct a war. Nothing survives from this period. The earliest identified ...
-
Thiers-
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attract ...
: Parc de l'image.
*
Combronde-
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attract ...
the road merges with the
A71 autoroute
The A71 autoroute is a motorway in central France. It is also called ''l'Arverne''. It starts at Orléans and ends at Clermont-Ferrand.
Orléans to Bourges
The autoroute is 2x2 lanes and is operated by the Société Cofiroute (Orléans-Bour ...
.
Junctions
A711 and A710 to A72
This will be a re-numbering of part of the existing
A72 autoroute
The A72 is an autoroute (motorway) in France. It is long.
The motorway is operated by ''Autoroutes du Sud de la France'' ( ASF) and links Balbigny to Saint-Étienne on one of the steepest and meandrous motorways in France. Over of the motorway ...
.
*''Exchange A711-A710-A89'' A junction with the
A711 and
A710 and the A89.
**Rest Area: Branchilion/Pacages
*01 (''Lezoux'') km 12 Towns served:
Lezoux
**Rest Area: Limagne
*02 (''Thiers-Ouest'') km 23 Towns served:
Thiers
**Rest Area: Les Pins/Le Lac
*03 (''Thiers-Est'') km 33 Towns served:
Thiers
**Rest Area: Les Suchères
*04 (''Noirétable'') km 47 Towns served:
Noirétable
**Service Area: Haut-Forez
*05 (''Saint-Germain-Laval'') km 69 Towns served:
Saint-Germain-Laval
**Rest Area: Les Bruyères/Les Ardilliers
*''Exchange A72-A89'' Junction with the
A72 and A89.
A71 to A20
*''Exchange A71-A89'' Junction of the
A71 and the A89. Towns served:
Combronde
*27: Towns served:
Manzat
Manzat (; Auvergnat: ''Manzac'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.
See also
*Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department
The following is a list of the 464 communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department of Franc ...
**Rest Area: Manzat
*26: Towns served:
Pontgibaud
Pontgibaud () is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme départment in Auvergne in central France.
It is located in the Massif Central region of France on the banks of the river Sioule. The area around the town was historically known for silver and lead ...
*25 (''La Bourboule'') Towns served:
Rochefort-Montagne,
Laqueuille,
La Bourboule
La Bourboule (; Auvergnat: ''La Borbola'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department
The following is a list of the 464 communes of t ...
and
Bourg-Lastic
Bourg-Lastic (; oc, Lo Borg) is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France.
Geography
The Chavanon forms the commune's eastern border.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department
T ...
**Rest Area: Chavanon
*24 (''Ussel-Est'') Towns served:
Ussel and
Bort-les-Orgues
Bort-les-Orgues (; oc, Bòrt) is a commune in the Corrèze department in central France.
Geography
Bort-les-Orgues is situated on the Dordogne.
The river Rhue forms part of the commune's southeastern border, then flows into the Dordogne. ...
**Rest Area: La Loutre
*23 (''Ussel-Ouest'') Towns served:
Ussel,
Neuvic,
Bort-les-Orgues
Bort-les-Orgues (; oc, Bòrt) is a commune in the Corrèze department in central France.
Geography
Bort-les-Orgues is situated on the Dordogne.
The river Rhue forms part of the commune's southeastern border, then flows into the Dordogne. ...
and
Mauriac
*22 (''Égletons'') Towns served:
Égletons
Égletons (; ''Aus Gletons'' in Occitan) is a commune in the Corrèze department in south-western France.
Geography Location
Égletons is located in the Massif Central at the crossroads of several geographical ensembles. The city leans up agai ...
**Service Area: La Moyenne Corrèze
*21 (''Tulle-Est'') Towns served:
Tulle
Tulle (; ) is a commune in central France. It is the third-largest town in the former region of Limousin and is the capital of the department of Corrèze, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Tulle is also the episcopal see of the Roman Cat ...
and
Gimel-les-Cascades
*20 (''Tulle-Nord'') Towns served:
Tulle
Tulle (; ) is a commune in central France. It is the third-largest town in the former region of Limousin and is the capital of the department of Corrèze, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Tulle is also the episcopal see of the Roman Cat ...
and
Uzerche
Uzerche (; oc, Usercha) is a commune in the Corrèze department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of central France.
In 1787, the English writer Arthur Young described the town as "the pearl of the Limousin" because of its picturesque setting ...
*19.1 (''Saint-Germain-les-Vergnes'') Towns served:
Saint-Germain-les-Vergnes
Saint-Germain-les-Vergnes (; oc, Sent German las Vernhas) is a commune in the Corrèze department in central France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Corrèze department
The following is a list of the 279 communes of the Corrèze d ...
*''Exchange A20-A89'' Junction of the
A20 and A89
A20 to Bordeaux
*''Exchange A20-A89'' Junction with
A20 and A89
*18 (''Terrasson'') Towns served:
Terrasson-Lavilledieu
*''Exchange RN89-A89'' Junction with the RN89 as a temporary end to the autoroute.
*''Exchange RN89-A89'' Junction with the RN89 as a temporary start to the autoroute.
*17 (''Thenon'') Towns served:
Thenon
*16 (''Périgueux-Est'') Towns served:
Périgueux
Périgueux (, ; oc, Peireguers or ) is a commune in the Dordogne department, in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France.
Périgueux is the prefecture of Dordogne, and the capital city of Périgord. It is al ...
**Service Area: Le Manoire
*15 (''Périgueux-Centre'') Towns served:
Périgueux
Périgueux (, ; oc, Peireguers or ) is a commune in the Dordogne department, in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France.
Périgueux is the prefecture of Dordogne, and the capital city of Périgord. It is al ...
*14 (''Périgueux-Ouest'') Towns served:
Périgueux
Périgueux (, ; oc, Peireguers or ) is a commune in the Dordogne department, in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France.
Périgueux is the prefecture of Dordogne, and the capital city of Périgord. It is al ...
*13.1 (''Mussidan'') Towns served:
Mussidan
Mussidan (; oc, Moissida) is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Mussidan station has rail connections to Bordeaux, Périgueux, Brive-la-Gaillarde and Limoges.
Population
Roundup of 16 January 19 ...
*13 (''Mussidan-Centre'') Towns served:
Mussidan
Mussidan (; oc, Moissida) is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Mussidan station has rail connections to Bordeaux, Périgueux, Brive-la-Gaillarde and Limoges.
Population
Roundup of 16 January 19 ...
and
Bergerac
*12 (''Montpon-Ménestérol'') Towns served:
Montpon-Ménestérol and
Sainte-Foy-la-Grande
Sainte-Foy-la-Grande (; oc, Senta Fe la Granda) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is on the south bank of the Dordogne.
History
The town was founded in 1076, near a priory where Sainte Foy ...
**Service Area: La Palombières
*11 (''Coutras'') Towns served:
Coutras
Coutras () is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Coutras station has rail connections to Bordeaux, Angoulême, Périgueux, Brive-la-Gaillarde and Limoges.
History
The Battle of Coutras, one of the ...
**Rest Area: Les Vignes
*10 (''Libourne-Nord'') Towns served:
Libourne
Libourne (; oc, label= Gascon, Liborna ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
It is the wine-making capital of northern Gironde and lies near Saint-Ém ...
*09 (''Libourne-Sud'') Towns served:
Libourne
Libourne (; oc, label= Gascon, Liborna ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
It is the wine-making capital of northern Gironde and lies near Saint-Ém ...
*''Exchange RN89-A89'' Junction with the RN89 which the A89 merges.
*08 Towns served:
Vayres
*07 Towns served:
Vayres
*06 Towns served:
Beychac-et-Caillau
*05 Towns served:
Beychac-et-Caillau
*04 Towns served:
Beychac-et-Caillau
*03 Towns served:
Montussan
*02.2 Towns served:
Montussan
*02.1 Towns served:
Yvrac
*02 Towns served:
Yvrac
*01 Towns served:
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...
*''Exchange A630-RN89'' Junction of the RN89 with the
A630 to Bordeaux.
External links
A89 Motorway in Saratlas
References
{{Autoroutes
A89