A63 autoroute

The A63 autoroute is a motorway in south west France. It is made up of two sections, the northern one is toll-free connecting Bordeaux (from Junction 15 of the Rocade) with Belin-Béliet. The southern section is operated by ASF and links Bordeaux to the border with Spain. The two sections are separated by the RN10 which crosses "Les Landes" (moorland) as a dual-carriageway.

The road is an important axis of communication between the French and Spanish Basque Country.

Route

The A63 connects the border with Spain at Biriatou (close to Hendaye) at the southern edge of the Landes (department). A section remains the RN10, towards Bordeaux which it reaches at junction 15 of rocade).

It is part of the "Autoroute des Estuaires" and is used by lorries from all over Europe heading to the Iberian peninsula. In addition, the road is connected at Bayonne with the A64 to Pau, Tarbes and Toulouse.

The Northern section has junctions with the A660.

History

*The A63 was operated by the Autoroute Company de la Cote Basque (ACOBA) in 1984.
*The first section to open was the by-pass of Saint-Jean-de-Luz in 1972.
*ACOBA was integrated into the ASF.

Junctions

*.
*26 ("Gradignan") km 205 Towns served: Gradignan
*25 ("Cestas") km 201 Towns served: Cestas
**Service Area: km 197 Bordeaux-Cestas
*24 ("Pierroton") km 195 Towns served: Pierroton
**Rest Area: Les Gargails
*23 ("Marcheprime") km 186 Towns served: Marcheprime
*"Exchange A63-A660" km 182 Junction with the A660 spur to Bassin d'Arcachon
*21 ("Salles") km 121 Towns served: Salles
**Rest Area: km 168 Lugos
*20 ("Belin-Béliet") km 161 Towns served: Belin
*"Exchange A63-RN10" Autoroute becomes the "'RN10"
*"Exchange A63-RN10 (St-Geours-de-Maremne)" Autoroute recommences.
*Rest Area: km 59 Saubion
*Péage de Bénesse-Maremne km 50
*08 ("Bénesse-Maremne") km 50 Towns served: Bénesse
**Service Area km 45 Labenne
*07 ("Ondres") km 40 Towns served: Ondres
*
*
*
*Péage de Biarritz-La Négresse
*
**Service Area: Bidart
*
**Rest Area: Urrugne
*Péage de Biriatou
*
**Frontier with "'

A660

*"Exchange A63-A660" Junction with the A63
*01 ("Lacanau de Mios") km 2 Towns served:
*02 ("Facture-Biganos") km 4 Towns served:
*03 ("Le Teich") km 10 Towns served: "Roundabout Point Gujan-Mestras" Junction with RD650 "Roundabout Point La Hume" Junction with RN250

Future

* The southern section will be widened to three lanes over the next few years.
* It is planned to upgrade the RN10 across the Landes.
* The northern section would become part of a new ring road for Bordeaux. This however is a contoversial road project.

External links

* [http://saratlas.free.fr/index.php?page=autoroute&route=a63&lang=fr A63 Motorway on Saratlas]