Alsace sets course for truck toll in border region
Published: Monday, Oct 21st 2024, 15:40
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A truck toll in Alsace is intended to reduce the number of trucks that use French highways close to the border to avoid the German toll. At its meeting in Colmar, the Alsace European Community (CEA) voted unanimously in favor of the toll, which is to be introduced on around 200 kilometers from the end of 2026.
This affects the A35 highway on the left bank of the Rhine, which runs from Lauterburg near Karlsruhe past Strasbourg via Colmar and Mulhouse to the Swiss border near Basel. Two country roads north of Strasbourg, which connect the A35 with the German A5 Rhine Valley highway near Achern and Baden-Baden, will also be subject to tolls, as will the A36 from the Neuenburg am Rhein interchange to Mulhouse.
Region may levy its own transit fee
Unlike large parts of the French freeway network, the A35 in Alsace was previously toll-free, as it is under the jurisdiction of the state and is not operated by one of the freeway companies. Since the beginning of 2022, the local authority has had the authority to levy its own toll for the transit of trucks.
Alsace should not be completely congested by the increasing truck traffic that avoids the German toll, said the regional representatives at their meeting in Colmar. The traffic and environmental pollution caused by the truck convoys is enormous. Since the increase in the German highway toll at the end of last year, the number of trucks diverting to France has risen once again. Around 12,000 trucks a day roll over the affected sections of highway.
Toll probably lower than in Germany
The exact modalities of the "R-Pass", as the new toll is called, have yet to be worked out. So far, there has been talk of an average toll of 15 cents per kilometer, which would be less than in Germany. This should limit the burden on Alsatian trucks, which are not exempt from the new toll, it was said. The toll revenue is to be used to finance the six-lane expansion of the A35 between Colmar and Sélestat, among other things.
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