LIVE – Snow on the Sarthe: roads blocked by trucks in difficulty at midday

Snowfall was observed throughout Sarthe this Thursday morning. It fell between 5 and 10 cm. The department is on orange alert until Friday evening due to a risk of icy conditions during the night from Thursday to Friday.

Update on road conditions at 11 a.m.

The Sarthe Departmental Council indicates at 11 a.m. this Thursday that salting and scraping operations are underway across the entire departmental road network and that traffic difficulties are encountered.

Beaumont-sur-Sarthe / Sillé le Guillaume / Mamers sector:

• Scraping in progress.
• Traffic is difficult around Sillé–le-Guillaume (RD 5- RD 310 – RD 304), in Assé-le-Boisne and Fresnay-sur-Sarthe (RD 15 – RD 299), on the Mamers ring road and in Saint Jean d’Assé.
• Difficult traffic on the entire secondary network but no blockage

Connerré sector:

• Scraping and salting in progress
• A heavy goods vehicle blocks the RD 301 in Bonnétable
• Difficult traffic on the secondary network (3 to 4 cm of snow)

Sablé-sur-Sarthe sector:

• Scraping in progress / three to four cm of snow.
• A heavy goods vehicle blocks the RD 4 between Poillé-sur-Vègre and Brûlon
• Closure of the RD 198 between the RD4 and Saint-Denis d’Orque (branches fallen under the weight of the snow)

La Flèche sector:

• Salting in progress
• RD 188 and RD 305 blocked by heavy goods vehicles.
• Correct circulation on the secondary network

Services impacted

In addition to school transport, services are disrupted by the snow. Household waste collection is canceled in most communities, such as Val de Sarthe.

Sarthe on orange alert until Friday evening

The Sarthe department is on orange alert for snow and ice from 5 a.m. this Thursday morning until midnight Friday. Temperatures are expected to remain negative next night and the Sarthoise road network could be difficult to pass this Friday morning due to icy conditions. Roads agents are also in action with snow plows like here in Chaufour Notre Dame.

Motorists are urged to exercise caution. An accident occurred between two cars between Coulans-sur-Gée and Chaufour-Notre-Dame on the D357 around 10:45 a.m. Firefighters and police are on site.

The rain after the snowflakes

Our reporter noted at 10:45 a.m. in Saint-Georges-du-Bois that the snowfall had stopped. However, it has been raining continuously since then.

The first flakes 7am

At 8:30 a.m., snow expected this Thursday, November 21, 2024 did not yet cause traffic difficulties in Sarthe, even if the school transport and regular ALEOP lines are canceled. But many listeners of France Bleu Maine reported on the air and on social networks that the snowflakes were starting to fall.

Snow reported at the University of Le Mans by Didier, at the hospital by Gérard. “The roofs are whitening in Sillé-le-Guillaume“, pointed out Marie at 02.43.29.10.10. Snow also reported in southern Sarthe by René, who lives in Chahaignes. And on the France Bleu Maine Facebook page, the first photos were quickly posted.