New motorway?

[johnny boy]

Does anybody know if the new motorway between Rouen and Le Mans is open this year and, if not, what's the A138 from Rouen to Le Mans like?

Cheers

John

[darrenlens]

I would guess the motorway would be open but it is much better fun going along the N138. It is a fairly straight road with a few dips and a lot of lorry's.

[johnny boy]

Thanks Darren,

We're going to be pushed for time this year so need to get down to Le Mans ASAP.

If we take the N138 and 'peg it' what's the best guess for time from Rouens through to Le Mans?

Sorry to ask crap questions - we usually go through Paris but want to try and avoid that this year!

John

[Nick M (nmilton)]

The A28 doesn't yet stretch from Rouen down to Le Mans - at least not yet.

It's certainly motorway all the way from Calais to Rouen and then the N138 is single carriageway until Alencon where you can pick up the new autoroute all the way to Le Mans.

[darrenlens]

I think its about 120 miles, so upto a couple of hours. It depends on when you are traveling & in what car? The road is quite straight so you can overtake a lot and have some real fun.

[johnny boy]

Cheers guys,

I think I'll risk it - it's got to be better than being stuck on the Perepherique for 2 hours!

We sail at one o'clock on Thursday afternoon so I reckon we'll easily get down there in time to get the tents up and out for some beer.

John

[Nick M (nmilton)]

Rouen is about 1/2 way between Calais and Le Mans so 120 miles is about right.

However, depending on when you're travelling it can take a while to get along the N138, especially if there are lots of trucks. Yes, you can overtake, but watch out for side turnings and post office vans pulling out in front of you when you're overtaking a truck at slightly more than the speed limit !!

[darrenlens]

JohnnyBoy, I'm going across at about the same (Seafrance) time so I may see you along the road. There are plenty of cafe's along the way and you can park up on the pavement outside.

[jmelhuish]

Most of it is open. I was lucky to take the Morgan up an empty motorway the day it openned! Flat out wind in the hair.

[johnny boy]

Hi Jason,

When you say most of it is open, roughly how much travelling is there still to do on the back roads, and did you do the full stretch from Rouen to Le Mans?

I know the reccommendation is to take the back roads anyway, but we are in a convoy of fairly mixed performance so would probably end up getting split up if we didn't take the autoroute.

Best regards

John