C’is a small revolution for motorists. The first free-flow motorway, without toll gates, opens this Friday 1is July in the Allier. This innovation, which extends over 30 kilometers, is effective at the initiative of the concession company Aliae, a subsidiary of the French construction giant Eiffage.
“Motorists will no longer have to stop at a toll barrier and will be able to drive from end to end” on this new motorway, A79, according to a model which “prefigures what motorways will be like in five to ten years “, explains to Agence France-Presse Isabelle Lacharme, operational director of Aliae.
This first portion will be free, before the total opening, scheduled for October, on the 88 kilometers of this axis which will cross the Allier from east to west. The A79 replaces the RN79 or RCEA, nicknamed “death road” because of the many fatal accidents recorded. Only the entrance and exit toll gates of the A71, to which it is connected, are maintained. Along the route, six gantries have been installed equipped with specific technology, with license plate recognition cameras.
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“The cheapest motorway in France”
For motorists already equipped with a motorway badge, traffic will be carried out as a normal journey on the motorway and they will be charged as is already the case. The others will have several options for paying for their trip, once their license plate has been raised: either on the Internet within 72 hours, or at terminals located in the rest areas.
“They will also be able to register before their trip on the Internet to be sampled directly after their visit”, specifies Isabelle Lacharme. The system will also make it possible to know the category of the vehicle and its level of emission to evaluate the tariff. “It’s the cheapest motorway in France since it will cost less than five euros for a light vehicle,” says the manager.
New road signs, tested for a period of three years, will warn motorists and disseminate the address of the website. The operation saves “16 hectares of surface” and reduces carbon emissions linked to stops, according to the company which has developed its own software in-house to design this highway, the cost of which amounts to 548 million euros. The A79 will be operated by the motorway company APRR, of which Eiffage is the majority shareholder.