A51 autoroute

A51 autoroute shield
A51 autoroute
Autoroute du Trièves (Northern section)
Route information
Part of E712
Maintained by Bouches-du-Rhône, AREA, ESCOTA
Length172 km (107 mi)
Existed1953–present
Major junctions
South end E714 / A 7 in Septèmes-les-Vallons
Major intersections
North end E712 / A 480 in Claix
Location
CountryFrance
Highway system
  • Roads in France
Single-carriageway part of the northern section of the A51

The A51 autoroute is a partly completed motorway in southeast France. It currently exists as two sections separated by a gap of approximately 85 km, the northern section sometimes referred to as the A51N.[1]

It is the long-term project to connect Marseille to Grenoble via Aix-en-Provence, the Durance Valley and the Hautes-Alpes department, providing a high-capacity alternative to the heavily used A7 following the Rhône valley.

History

The first section was built in 1953, it connected the Autoroute de nord (open in 1951) to Cabriès. It was only extended to Aix-en-Provence and the A8 in 1970. The construction of the section from Grenoble to Sisteron was subject to protests because of its environmental impact. In 1995 for example, demonstrators blocked work by chaining themselves to construction equipment.

Northern section

The section at the Grenoble end, from Varces to Coynelle (17 km), was opened in July 1999. This was extended in March 2007 when the next section, connecting Coynelle to the Col du Fau (10.5 km), was opened in March 2007.

This section includes 4.5 km of single carriageway through the Tunnel of Sinard and over the Viaduct de Monestier. The opening of this section has greatly reduced the summer congestion through the commune of Monestier. This northern section is a toll road operated by AREA.

Southern section

The motorway passes the cities of Aix-en-Provence, Pertuis, Manosque, Sisteron and then Digne-les-Bains and Tallard. In the Isère department, it passes Monestier-de-Clermont, Vif and Varces-Allières-et-Risset. The motorway provides access to the southwestern Alps for the residents of the South of France.

Its southern section connects Marseille to Aix-en-Provence and the Durance Valley to the north of Sisteron (Saulce). Only 18 km is toll free between Marseilles and Aix-en-Provence, the remaining 128 km is a toll road operated by Escota between Aix-en-Provence and Saulce. At Aix-en-Provence, the autoroute becomes briefly the N296 dual-carriageway between the exits Jas-de-Boufan and Aix-les-Platanes. This section where it meets the N7 was originally proposed to be an autoroute but building has subsequently compromised the route. There is a speed limit of 50 km/h on part of the N296.


List of junctions

Southern section

Region Department Junction Destinations Notes
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Bouches-du-Rhône  A7 - A51 Marseille - centre, Saint-Antoine
Fos - Martigues (A55), alt Marignane, Marseille - L'Estaque
Exit 1 : Plan-de-Campagne  Aix-en-Provence - Jas-de-Bouffan, Encagnane, Les Milles
Exit 2 : Bouc-Bel-Air 
( A515 - A51) 		Gardanne, Simiane-Collongue, Bouc-Bel-Air Entry and exit from Marseille
 Aire des Chabauds (Northbound)
 Aire de la Champouse (Southbound)
Exit 3 : Luynes  Aix-en-Provence - Pôle d'Activités, Bouc-Bel-Air, Luynes
Exit 4 : Gardanne  Gardanne, Luynes
Exit 5 : Les Milles  Aix-en-Provence - Pôle d'Activités, Pont-de-l'Arc, Les Milles, alt Aix - TGV, alt Marseille-Provence
Exit 6 : Aix-en-Provence - centre  Aix-en-Provence
  A8 - A51 Lyon (A7), Avignon, Salon-de-Provence
Nice, Toulon (A52), Aubagne, Aix-en-Provence - Pont de l'Arc, Val-Saint-André
Exit 7 : Aix-en-Provence - Jas-de-Bouffan  Berre-l'Étang, Aix-en-Provence - Encagnane, centre, Lyon (A8), Avignon, Salon-de-Provence
E712 / becomes E712 / N 296
Exit 8 : Aix-en-Provence - centre  Aix-en-Provence - Pontier, Centre Hospitalier du Pays d'Aix Entry and exit from Gap
Exit 9 : La Chevalière  Gap (A51), La Chevalière
  RD 7N - RN 296 Nîmes, Avignon, Salon-de-Provence, Saint-Cannat, Célony
Exit 10 : Puyricard  Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade, Aix-en-Provence, Oppidum d'Entremont
 Aire de Saint-Hilaire (Westbound)
 Aire de Barcelone (Eastbound)
Exit 11 : Chemin Saint-Donat  Chemin Saint-Donat
E712 / N 296 becomes again E712 /
Exit 12 : Aix-en-Provence - Les Platanes  Aix-en-Provence - nord
Exit 13 : Venelles  Venelles
Exit 14 : Meyrargues  Gap, Digne-les-Bains, Sisteron, Manosque, Meyrargues, Pertuis Entry and exit from Marseille
 Aire de Meyrargues (Northbound)
 Aire de Meyrargues-Fontbelle (Southbound)
 Péage de Meyrargues
Exit 15 : Pertuis  Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade, Pertuis
 Aire de Jouques (Southbound)
 Aire du Pont Mirabeau (Northbound)
Exit 17 : Saint-Paul-lès-Durance  Saint-Paul-lès-Durance, Vinon-sur-Verdon, Gréoux-les-Bains, Centre d'Études Atomiques de Cadarache
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Exit 18 : Manosque  Valensole, Gréoux-les-Bains, Manosque
 Aire de Manosque (Northbound)
 Aire de Volx (Southbound)
Exit 19 : La Brillanne  Forcalquier, Oraison
 Aire de Ganagobie
Exit 20 : Peyruis  Digne-les-Bains, Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban, Les Mées, Peyruis
 Aire du Belvédère de Peyruis - Les Mées (Southbound)
Exit 21 : Aubignosc  Nice, Digne-les-Bains, Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban, Aubignosc
 Aire d'Aubignosc
Exit 22 : Sisteron - sud  Sisteron - centre, Vallée du Jabron
Exit 23 : Sisteron - nord  Grenoble by the Col de la Croix-Haute, Sisteron, La Motte-du-Caire, Laragne-Montéglin
E712 / becomes
Hautes-Alpes Exit 24 : La Saulce  Gap, La Saulce, Tallard, Curbans, La Motte-du-Caire
 Péage de La Saulce
Southern section ends at N 85
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Northern section

Region Department Junction Destinations Notes
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Isère
E712 / A 480 becomes E712 /
Exit 10 : Varces  Varces, Claix - Les Bauches Entry and exit from Grenoble
Exit 11 : Saint-Paul de Varces  Saint-Paul de Varces Entry and exit from Grenoble
Exit 12 : Vif  Sisteron par RD, Vif, Varces
 Péage du Crozet
Exit 13 : Sinard  Sinard, Lac de Monteynard-Avignonet Entry and exit from Grenoble
 Aire des Jallets (Southbound)
 Aire des Marceaux (Northbound)
E712 / Northern section ends at E712 / N 75
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Future

Following many ministerial and policy changes, and tensions between local residents. As a result, the completion of the motorway has been on the agenda for 20 years.

Were all the sections are completed the road journey from Grenoble-Marseille would be 2h40 (instead of the current 3h30). However, there are several problems:

  • The design of the road
  • The class of roads (toll/free autoroute, expressway or upgrade of the current roads (N75 and N85)
  • The cost of the project.
  • Strong environmental impact of the route.

The motorway must pass through the middle of the South-Dauphiné (Trièves) Alps. There were two options for the route between the Col de Fau (Monestier-de-Clermont) and the end of the southern section near Gap:

  1. The "High Route" was the most direct route over several high passes to Sisteron (The budget at the time was envisaged at 1.8 billion euros)
  2. "Gap East" (via the Drac valley, the Col de Bayard and the Avance valley) to Saulce the current end of the motorway from Marseille (the budget was envisaged to be approximately 2.2 billion euros).

Following a public inquiry organized between 2005 and 2006, the Minister Mr Perben announced in 2006 that A51 would be built on the Gap East route. However the 2011 edition of the National Scheme of Transport Infrastructure (SNIT) did not include the completion of this section. Completion before 2025 is unlikely.

References

  1. ^ "Online map service of the French national mapping agency". géoportail. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
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