The A13 motorway closed until May, here are the best solutions for thousands of motorists

The first kilometers of the A13 motorway from Paris will be closed at least until May 1, causing a daily headache for many motorists.

The struggle is far from over for the hundred of thousands of motorists who use the A13 motorway every day to enter or leave Paris. The reopening of the section between the Saint-Cloud tunnel, in the west of the capital, and Vaucresson, in Hauts-de-Seine, is not imminent. Closed since the evening of April 18, after the discovery of a large crack in the roadway at the Saint-Cloud viaduct, the first kilometers of the Normandy highway, which originates near the ring road, will remain inaccessible to all vehicles at least until May 1st. This is the best scenario, one in which work could begin by the end of this week...

Needless to say, many French people, mostly workers based in Hauts-de-Seine and Yvelines, will have to be patient in the coming days. This closure, over around ten kilometres, has the effect of extending travel times for motorists between their home and their place of work. If some have adapted at the start of the week, by leaving exceptionally earlier or by opting for teleworking, the fact that the work now extends over a minimum of ten days risks having repercussions on the traffic, already very heavy in this area, especially during rush hours.

In their misfortune, regulars of the A13 have several solutions thanks to a well-developed road network in this busy area. What alternatives are available to them? The first is to take the Nationale 13 a little further north on the ring road, at Porte Maillot. This axis provides access to the A14 motorway which connects, over 21 kilometers, the business district of La Défense, at Nanterre, to Orgeval where it joins the A13 (open at this location).

The second solution to bypass the closed part of the motorway is to take the Nationale 118 at Porte de Saint-Cloud then the Duplex of the A86 which leads to the N12 then the A12 at Bois d'Arcy before to join the A13 at Rocquencourt. Finally, for others, those living in the very close western suburbs, there is the possibility of traveling on the smaller urban routes, slower and subject to the many hazards of traffic.

But in addition to forcing motorists to make nice detours, on roads inevitably impacted by these compulsory detours, there is another problem: that of the financial cost. Beyond the additional kilometers to travel, and therefore an increase in fuel consumption, the A14 motorways and the A86 Duplex are chargeable. They are even expensive, especially the Duplex which stretches from Vélizy to Rueil-Malmaison where the price per kilometer can reach 1 euro!

Some politicians, first and foremost Valérie Pécresse, president of the region, have also asked the State to make the A14 free of charge during the work. The announcement on Monday evening of the extension of the closure of the A13 by one week, from April 25 to May 1 in the best case scenario, will perhaps shake things up. Because the anger of motorists risks growing, especially if the closure of the A13 were to drag on, while the May 8 bridge is fast approaching and with it the flow of Parisians eager to spend a few days of rest in the Norman tranquility...