The Infamous Rouen Tunnel

[Detnor]

Every time I've just about been able to move on, somebody brings the subject back up again, and I re-live that few minutes....all going well, carefully planned route, and then the diversion signs. No choice, concrete barriers to stop turns then heading straight for an underpass. French lorry behind blasted his horns, all lights on as I was about to miss the slip road up. Sill dont know how I got round the red lane posts.

 

[Riverbankannie]

We have been caught out too, but before satnavs and trying to follow road signs and our travelling companions in front of us. Thankfully we also squeezed under.
Looking at a 9 month old google maps photo, most of the dangling red and white tel tales are missing at that junction, so I expect all gone now! They are also at the start of the kerbs and not before, so , as you say, you can be in the channels in a flash

 

[Sheddy]

Will somebody please confirm, or alter my memory, about approaching the dreaded Rouen tunnel from the East and wishing to pass South of the city that one should cross the river then take the first exit right to drop down to the road along the river.

I think it's the second turning into the loop

Google Earth

earth.app.goo.gl

 

[chaser]

The secret for anyone who doesn't know is stay in the centre lanes, not the inside or outside because believe it or not there are tunnels off both sides.
Never mind getting honked at for being in the wrong lane ,better than having your roof off.

 

[chaser]

To be honest we now go yvetot and honfluer, farther round but much pleasanter journey and although it's very expensive we love honfluer.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Old Gibber]

Will somebody please confirm, or alter my memory, about approaching the dreaded Rouen tunnel from the East and wishing to pass South of the city that one should cross the river then take the first exit right to drop down to the road along the river.

I've no idea, my sat nav guided me through Rouen faultlessly recently, and never anywhere near the tunnels.

 

[Landy Andy]

Stay to the right (east of Rouen). The D6015. It’s an industrial area so no, or high height limits.

 

[Stonemags76]

We also go Yvetot as we had the underpass thing when the bridge was being repaired - we had to do a U turn once, & a swift cut in (cut up?) another time. It’s not worth the hassle to save time or miles!

 

[Minxy]

[Have you looked at my conversation, if not no worry - you are on holiday.]

Geoff

Yes, I've been spending a bit of time mulling it over to see what I can offer/suggest etc so will respond tonight ... That'll get this nosy lot intrigued!!!

 

[nicholsong]

Yes, I've been spending a bit of time mulling it over to see what I can offer/suggest etc so will respond tonight ... That'll get this nosy lot intrigued!!!

"Don't tell them Pike Mel"

Thanks Mel. sent short reply, more later.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Tio64]

Stay to the right (east of Rouen). The D6015. It’s an industrial area so no, or high height limits.
View attachment 605237

But that road has countless speed ramps, does it not? I'd rather go for the D18E and onto A13, seems a much quicker route. Problem I've had on my 2x attempts so far, is the tunnel before the bridge splits, and Evreux/Chatres etc is not signposted. For my next attempt I'll know to follow peage signs for Le Mans & A13. You only use a little bit of peage so it's just a small toll.

However next time we intend to use the Newhaven Dieppe ferry again, have avoided it the past couple of years due to covid. The overnight ferry allows approx 3-4 hours sleep and then discharges early am, approx 5am iirc. Gets you through Rouen early and after a good day's drive you get near to Bordeaux.

 

[minesapint]

Was this the culprit? I’m surprised your SatNav didn’t indicate to stay right.

View attachment 604736
So glad you’re MH survived.

We also nearly fell foul of the dreaded Rouen tunnel, we were hooted by a van coming the other way and he pointed to the escape exit on the right of the picture, Many thanks to the man in the little citroen van, we were just under three metres.

 

[TOT]

As you say - no where to go... Turned down 2 Tag high profiles for exactly that reason.............. Did loose a TV aerial that forgot to lower once - but was a tree branch..

 

[Zakattak]

Don't you just love french road signs

 

[Rumour and Innuendo]

Our first time driving through Rouen (and the last!) in a motorhome, we nearly got caught. I did just manage to change lanes in time because I saw the height signs. We now go A29 to the A151 instead of using the A28 and into the mayhem. Not only is it a less stressful route, it is also more economical as you are not (usually) in traffic. We did go there in the car before we had the Motorhome, and there were diverions everywhere and we got totally lost. I can live without going there again.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Littlewheels]

I've no idea, my sat nav guided me through Rouen faultlessly recently, and never anywhere near the tunnels.

This always happens when you drive with your eyes shut and gripping the steering wheel with all your might……….

 

[Minxy]

But that road has countless speed ramps, does it not? I'd rather go for the D18E and onto A13, seems a much quicker route. Problem I've had on my 2x attempts so far, is the tunnel before the bridge splits, and Evreux/Chatres etc is not signposted. For my next attempt I'll know to follow peage signs for Le Mans & A13. You only use a little bit of peage so it's just a small toll.

However next time we intend to use the Newhaven Dieppe ferry again, have avoided it the past couple of years due to covid. The overnight ferry allows approx 3-4 hours sleep and then discharges early am, approx 5am iirc. Gets you through Rouen early and after a good day's drive you get near to Bordeaux.

Not any issues with loads of ramps that I recall and we've gone that way loads of times.

 

[JockandRita]

People become task focused on their satnavs, one of the reasons I don’t use a truck one. It makes me read all the road signs and if I think it’s being stupid, I ignore it and rely on my own judgement.

As an experienced HGV & PSV driver, I don't rely on my Truck Sat Nav entirely, but I do like it, as it's extremely accurate, however, if the directions it gives me don't look right, I won't take them. I tend to check out the route before making the journey, and often input waypoints, to take me the route I want to go.

Best to get behind a Spanish lorry and just follow that through Rouen.

Or a Portugese one. In my early days of driving through France, and through Rouen Jim, that was the best advice I received too.

Not any issues with loads of ramps that I recall and we've gone that way loads of times.

Nor us, and that is our usual route when heading south.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Burgo]

Don't you just love french road signs
View attachment 605590

So... What do you do? My interpretation is:
If that is if you take the left lane it's deffo a 2.6m height restriction
If you take the right lane you're advised that on all directions there's also a 2.6m height restriction.

 

[sueandjohn]

We also nearly fell foul of the dreaded Rouen tunnel, we were hooted by a van coming the other way and he pointed to the escape exit on the right of the picture, Many thanks to the man in the little citroen van, we were just under three metres.

That’s the escape exit that mangled our wheels …?better than the roof though

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[sonar]

I had an absolutely terrifying experience a couple of days ago and am hoping someone can explain what happened!

We were heading South on the A28 and pulled off the motorway to go to a Lidl on the outskirts of Rouen. We were using a motorhome satnav with our height 2.9m programmed in. The route seemed straight forward but for some reason the satnav seemed to complicate it and we ended up on what Google maps tell me is the N338. It’s a busy multi lane road approaching the De la Motte roundabout. As often happens in busy city centres, the satnav was struggling to keep up with the multiple exits and I found myself filtered into a lane with high kerbs making it impossible to change lanes and heading towards a tunnel which seemed impossibly low. I hadn’t noticed a height restriction sign and my satnav wasn’t flashing a warning telling me not to proceed. I reached the edge of the tunnel with traffic building behind me and was sure it was going to rip my roof off. I slammed the brakes on, then with cars behind sounding horns and no way out, edged slowly forward, thinking that a low speed impact would minimise the damage. Amazingly, I managed to crawl through unscathed. Almost immediately there was another similar tunnel and again nowhere else to go. This time I spotted a sign saying max height 2.6m! Again I somehow got through but it was absolutely terrifying. I’ve since checked on Street view and both tunnels have a 2.6m height restriction.

I’m left with a number of questions. I’ve emailed the satnav company to ask why the device didn’t sound an alarm and warning. I also don’t understand how I got through the tunnel (which I understand is quite notorious). Do the French understate height restrictions?

Not an experience I want to repeat in a hurry!

What sat nav were you using .
the reason I asked is I won’t get one ..

 

[Rumour and Innuendo]

What sat nav were you using .
the reason I asked is I won’t get one ..

It doesn't matter, none of them are 100%. The mapping is the thing, and no mapping is perfect.

 

[Landy Andy]

But that road has countless speed ramps, does it not? I'd rather go for the D18E and onto A13, seems a much quicker route. Problem I've had on my 2x attempts so far, is the tunnel before the bridge splits, and Evreux/Chatres etc is not signposted. For my next attempt I'll know to follow peage signs for Le Mans & A13. You only use a little bit of peage so it's just a small toll.

However next time we intend to use the Newhaven Dieppe ferry again, have avoided it the past couple of years due to covid. The overnight ferry allows approx 3-4 hours sleep and then discharges early am, approx 5am iirc. Gets you through Rouen early and after a good day's drive you get near to Bordeaux.

No. No speed bumps at all. 2 or 3 lanes all the way, but many junctions off to the Ind areas. Did it
last week

 

[Guigsy]

So... What do you do? My interpretation is:
If that is if you take the left lane it's deffo a 2.6m height restriction
If you take the right lane you're advised that on all directions there's also a 2.6m height restriction.

Red edged circle means it's a restriction. So nothing over 2.6m
Blue signs means it's allowable or a minimum. You could interpret it that it means that you must be over 2.6m to go that way...

 

[Zakattak]

Red edged circle means it's a restriction. So nothing over 2.6m
Blue signs means it's allowable or a minimum. You could interpret it that it means that you must be over 2.6m to go that way...

If you see the sign from 50 meters then traveling at 50kph you've got about 4 seconds to make your mind up.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Guigsy]

If you see the sign from 50 meters then traveling at 50kph you've got about 4 seconds to make your mind up.

Agreed. It probably would have been more sensible to put that info on a separate gantry to make it easier to mentally digest. But that would have required more money and space... I bet those clatter boards get hit a lot!

 

[monzer]

So... What do you do? My interpretation is:
If that is if you take the left lane it's deffo a 2.6m height restriction
If you take the right lane you're advised that on all directions there's also a 2.6m height restriction.

So are the hanging chains, a bit further up in that picture covering both lanes?

 

[Burgo]

So are the hanging chains, a bit further up in that picture covering both lanes?

They certainly look like it, with the 3 or 4 in the right missing.

 

[Zakattak]

No only the left hand lane, the view just adds to the confusion.

 

[Minxy]

So... What do you do? My interpretation is:
If that is if you take the left lane it's deffo a 2.6m height restriction
If you take the right lane you're advised that on all directions there's also a 2.6m height restriction.

Look at it again, the left one has a 2.6m height restriction, the right one is showing it is for all traffic over 2.6m as the little black arrows are the other way round. It makes perfect sense to me.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}