“it was really a mess”, hundreds of motorists trapped on the A 36 motorway in Doubs

The snow that fell in abundance since Thursday at the beginning of the afternoon in the departments of Doubs, Haute-Saône and Territoire de Belfort caused the white “shipwreck” and blockage of cars and trucks which had entered the A36.

Orange vigilance has not been lifted, it will remain in force all day Friday in Doubs, Haute-Saône, Territoire de Belfort where The situation has been difficult in recent hours.

“It took us 7 hours to do Montbéliard Besançon, it was daunting” testifies our journalist Jérémy Chevreuil with Lilia Aoudia. Leaving the City of Princes at 7 p.m., they arrived around 2 a.m. in Besançon, even though their car was equipped. To exit the highway, we had to slalom between the trucks.

Around 9 p.m., the A36 was closed at km 60 towards Beaune in the Doubs department, but vehicles on the highway found themselves trapped. Trucks found themselves in difficulty at the Écot area in the Montbéliard sector.

“On Autoroute Info, an APPR manager (Paris Rhine Rhône motorway) explained that the cleared trucks got back into the way by going to the left lanes, which is prohibited” testifies our journalist.

Trapped on the A36, our journalists were able to see what state of mind the other motorists were in, stuck in the same conditions. Around them, everyone has been stuck for 3 hours and connected to Autoroute Info to try to find out what is happening. Not angry, but quite fatalistic. “We don’t have much choice, we have to wait. But it’s true that it’s really a mess,” blurted out a motorist. A few meters further on, a young man arriving from the Altkirch fair who finds himself prevented from returning to Paris. “I called to book a hotel one side, but at 11 p.m. they close the reception and I'm not sure I'll be there in time since we're completely at a standstill. I'm laughing, but out of nerves. Do we have a choice? Do we have a solution? The answer is no, and it's better to have a smile.” To keep busy, the phone. Calling loved ones, scrolling social networks, watching films, eating… all means are good to avoid getting bored during these many hours of waiting.

On social networks, stranded motorists are expressing their anger or concern more: “stuck in my car for 5 hours!!! A shame: no information, cold, hungry, stressed”, “My daughters have been stuck on the highway for three hours”.

After the motorway, the secondary network also quickly found itself in difficulty, particularly towards Clerval.

Avoid taking the road if you can. The situation is still disrupted on the A36 at PK50 due to heavy goods vehicles which have entered despite the ban on zonal traffic for those over 7.5 tonnes, and even more so overtaking” indicates the Prefecture around 9 a.m. The Prefect of Doubs calls for civic-mindedness from everyone.

Dozens of truckers were still blocked by snow around 6:30 a.m. this Friday morning on the A36 motorway, managed by APRR, near Montbéliard, in Doubs, in the Beaune-Mulhouse direction, according to images from webcams consulted on the Vinci Autoroutes website.

According to Météo Franc-Comtoise, more than 20 centimeters were measured from St-Hippolyte to Montbéliard, Belfort and their outskirts this Friday. Quantities not seen for several years.

Doubs, Haute-Saône and Territoire de Belfort were on orange vigilance. The prefects had not initiated any traffic restrictions except in Haute-Saône where the speed was lowered by 20km/h on the RN 57 and RN19.

Motorists generally ask: “They park the trucks when there is 1 cm of snow, and there no!”, “if the heavy goods vehicles had already been forced to stop, we wouldn’t be here…”, “how is that possible in a region where snow is customary and after weather forecasts announced well in advance?!!”.

Around 2 a.m., 107.7 info, the radio communicated and announced the traffic ban for heavy goods vehicles in the Territories of Belfort, Doubs, Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin until this Friday 10 a.m.

In view of Météo France forecasts announcing new frosts this Friday, November 22, the Prefect of Doubs has issued an order to suspend school transport from 5 a.m. to 12 p.m. today, in the Pays de Montbéliard urban area sector. Information communicated at the end of the night on the prefecture's social networks.

At the same time as this measure, the prefecture of the Eastern defense and security zone has decided to prohibit, by zonal decree, the circulation of heavy goods vehicles weighing more than 7.5 tonnes on the A36 motorway in both directions between Mulhouse (68 ) and Saint-Vit (25) until 10:00 a.m. today. Vehicles affected by the traffic ban measures will be intercepted and parked in storage areas.

► More information to come