New route into France by Stuart Bladon
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IN northern France, the A26 motorway was extended towards Calais on December 19 when the new Lillers-St Omer section was opened to traffic. Approximately 18 miles long, it can knock about 20 minutes off the existing route, since the town of St Omer is largely bypassed.
Vehicles still have to follow the N43 trunk road from Calais towards Arras, but a right-turn is signposted immediately on entering St Omer, and after about four miles of all-purpose connecting road, the existing temporary terminal of the motorway is reached.
Like most French motorways, this new stretch is subject to tolls, but it is still worth the cost and short extra distance to make use of it.
Work will start soon to extend the motorway the rest of the way towards Calais.
It should reach Ardres, approximately mid-way between St Omer and Calais by 1983, and completion to Calais itself is expected by 1984/5. Ferry operators Townsend Thoresen see this new route as adding greatly to the attraction of Calais as prime port for lorries.
Of greater long-term significance is the plan to extend the motorway in almost a straight line from Calais and St Omer to St Quentin and Rheims, and eventually onward in a southerly direction to Troyes and Dijon. When this has been completed, it will enable north-south traffic to avoid the heavily congested Paris area altogether, by-passing it on the East.