Route Nationale 216, also known as the Rocade Est or Rocade Portuaire, is a French trunk road that connects the long-distance A-16 and A-26 autoroutes to the

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 ...

ferries towards the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. From the interchange with the A-16, A-26, the road runs northward, connecting to Rue Yervant Toumaniantz at exit 3, and the Rue de Garennes at exit 2. The northern terminus is at an interchange which connects directly to the ferry terminal, along with an exit for local traffic. The southern 2.5km from junction 3 to the A16/A26 interchange has been upgraded to autoroute standard and is now marked A216. As the main road towards 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 ...

, the N216 is notorious for migrants attempting to enter the

. Since the installation of the Calais Jungle, a number of migrants trying to enter the UK by climbing aboard vehicles have been killed on this road, including 5 deaths in 2016. A second, unofficial camp was set up to the east of the N216 by the curve at exit 2 in 2015. The road is regularly blocked by the migrants with felled trees and other objects in an effort to stop the vehicles to enable them to hide aboard. In response, HGV drivers have been spotted attempting to run over migrants approaching their vehicles on the road. In 2016, plans were announced to build a long wall on either side of the N216 to prevent migrants accessing the road and to improve the surroundings for drivers. The proposal is a joint Anglo-French project, estimated to cost £1.9m. Local residents have dubbed it "the Great Wall of Calais". Construction was completed by the end of the year, but by this point the Jungle had been completely evacuated.

References

{{reflist Calais migrant crisis (1999–present)

216 __NOTOC__ Year 216 (Roman numerals, CCXVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sabinus and Anullinus (or, less frequently, ...