The European Commission considers relaxing truck Drivers’ Hours rules in exceptional circumstances. 

The FIA is not happy about MEP vote on road tolls. The European Rally Championship shines a light on south east Estonia. DFDS will not take up the offer from strikers of two sailings per day Dover-Calais.

.

EU TO RELAX DRIVERS’ HOURS?

Commission mulling changes to help truck drivers stuck in ‘exceptional circumstances’.

EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc (centre, left) meets with MEP Dennis de Jong (centre, right) and representatives of truck unions in Brussels, 7 July 2015. Photo Jelle Boonstra, @TLN_Beleid

The European Commission is considering relaxing Drivers’ Hours rules during ‘exceptional circumstances’.

An authoritative source in Brussels told @DriveEurope today the Commission is looking at the changes to help drivers stuck in situations like the recent blockade at Calais.

However, any changes will be ‘assessed and balanced against other considerations’ and there is no mention of how long it could take to put into practice.

Drivers’ Hours restrictions made life difficult all round during the blockade. Drivers stuck in slow moving queues had no choice but to pull over at the side of the road when they ran out of time, thus adding to the chaos on the road.

The weekend before last, after waiting in Operation Stack for 7.5 hours, @Geordie_Driver was on the verge of running out of hours after his Channel crossing.

Luckily he managed to find a secure parking space on the A26. The alternative would have been parking in the vicinity of Calais, at the mercy of migrant gangs.

The Commission’s rethink follows a meeting last week between Dutch transport unions FNV, TLN and MEP Denis de Jong with Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc.

She was presented with a seven point wish list (see here in English) of which ‘temporary relaxation of enforcement obligations’ was item four.

The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) made a similar call on the Irish government last week.

.

The European Rally Championship visits south east Estonia this weekend. Centered around the cities of Tartu and Elva, the three day event is almost all on forest gravel stages. Having visited western Estonia, along the coast on Via Baltica, we’re keen to check out the rest of the country, especially this part near the vast Lake Pskov on the Russian border. As usual @DestinationEU beat us to it. Check out what she made of Estonia’s famous manor house hotels, and ‘quirky’ Tartu. Photo @FIA.

.

roundup: ROAD TOLLS. MEPs on the Transport and Tourism Committee yesterday approved a self-generated progress report on the EU’s 2011 Transport White Paper. In doing so they called for the Commission to develop a framework for road tolls reports @DaveKeating. While the FIA – Federation Internationale de l’Automobile – broadly welcomed the vote as ‘placing road users at the heart of transport policy’ – and the move towards ‘post-licence training for drivers’ – on road tolls it says, ‘Priority 10, calls for a road charging scheme where the ‘user pays’ or ‘polluter pays’, however there are no clear methods on how this can be calculated nor any method to include the amount that drivers are already paying in vehicle-related taxes.’ The FIA also criticises the EU target to remove all conventionally fuelled cars from city centres by 2050. The MEP’s vote is not binding on the Commission but a new strategy on road tolls may well be included in a new ‘Road Package’ due next year. CALAIS STRIKE. It seems DFDS will not be taking up an offer to allow their ferries to dock in Calais once every twelve hours (see update below). As predicted, following their meeting with the French minister of transport on Monday, the strikers made this ‘concession’ this afternoon. Union leader Eric Vercoutre told La Voix du Nord, ‘This is not a concession to DFDS we are doing today is a concession to the government.’ However, an industry insider tells us two sailings per day would be impractical. In response, DFDS simply said, ‘Currently our services are still suspended until [at least] 17 July.’ Update 16 July: DFDS tell us this afternoon, ‘We will not be operating our service into Calais until we are able to operate a full service with clear access.’

.

MPs hear shocking evidence during their investigation into the Calais migrant crisis – including that the minister responsible is yet to see the problem for himself.

Also, more migrant incidents at Eurotunnel and Calais this morning as a new secure truck park is announced for Calais. Operation Stack warning. Exclusion zones set up in Paris for Bastille Day celebrations.

.

THE SHOCKING SCALE OF THE CALAIS MIGRANT CRISIS

MPs hear migrant numbers are growing fast and that government millions may be too late.

The Home Affairs Select Committee. Photo via @RHANews

Some truly eye-popping facts and figures emerged during today’s UK parliament Home Affairs Select Committee session on ‘The Situation at Calais’.

Aside from the £500,000 police say it cost to organise the Operation Stack freight queues in recent weeks, Alan Pughsley, chief constable of Kent Police told MPs that at its height 7,000 trucks were held on the M20.

The cost of loads lost to contamination by stowaways amounted to €1bn per year said Richard Burnett, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association (RHA), at an average loss of £30,000 per vehicle.

Just this morning twenty two illegal immigrants were found at Eurotunnel’s UK freight terminal said John Keefe, the Channel Tunnel operator’s director of public affairs.

He also said Eurotunnel had returned 28,000 attempted illegal migrants to police just in the past six months.

Meanwhile, the cost of the new secure truck park in Calais announced earlier, see below, is put at €2m.

However, the RHA’s Burnett seemed to speak for many when he said the autumn due date was too late.

‘It needs to start now,’ he said. ‘We need action now. We can’t afford to wait.’

Worryingly, the number of migrants camping out at Calais seems to be rising very quickly.

When the Committee visited the site two weeks ago numbers stood at 3000, up from 600 in January 2015 said Committee chairman Keith Vaz.

As of today, Pughsley told MPs, there were 5,000 migrants at the Channel.

Immigration minister James Brokenshire disputed that figure saying he is told the number is 3,000.

Most shocking of all – considering he held the same post in the previous government, and has appeared at the Select Committee on the same subject before – was when Brokenshire admitted he has not seen the situation for himself.

Vaz concluded the session by telling the minister he hoped he would be able to get to Calais sometime soon.

.

Outriders rehearse their part in the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs Elysee in Paris. Large exclusion zones are in place, around the Champs Elysee this morning and the Eiffel Tower this evening. Not a great day to drive in the French capital. Photo @PNationale.

.

roundup: CALAIS MIGRANT CRISIS. Three migrants were injured at Eurotunnel’s French freight terminal overnight. Two of the three men, all of Pakistani origin and aged between 25 and 30 according to La Voix du Nord, were found unconscious with electrical burns at around 03:00. The service was suspended but resumed after ninety minutes with relatively minor delays since (see more about enhanced security at the Channel Tunnel operator’s French terminal). Truck driver Sam also reported migrants throwing bollards onto the road into Calais port this morning in an apparent attempt to slow drivers down. Meanwhile, the on-going security enhancements at Calais port and Eurotunnel’s French terminal will be complete by the end of the month Home Secretary Theresa May told the House of Commons this lunchtime. She also said there will be a new secure truck park at Calais with space for 230 vehicles, the equivalent of a 2.5 mile queue on the open road, ready in the autumn; that only 7% of illegal immigrant fines were issued to British drivers last year, and that the UK will host an international event on best practice in truck security to boost compliance with foreign hauliers who, she said, comprise the ‘vast majority’ of freight traffic moving through Calais. Finally, Lloyd’s Loading List quotes an unnamed industry source saying that the Operation Stack M20 freight queue is likely to return this week as the lack of capacity at Dover – thanks to the strikers occupying ships at Calais – combines with a rush of holidaymakers and freight held back by the French Bastille Day national holiday. The source says strikers may exploit the situation to give fresh impetus to their demands. However, the latest news form Calais is that the union is preparing to make a ‘concession’ tomorrow after a meeting with the French transport minister on Monday. 

.

Paris not wildly enthusiastic about its electric Formula E race announced for next year.

Also, a quick look at the Panoramastrasse Oberaar, an off-shoot of the Grimsel Pass in Switzerland. And, thanks to a new stretch of motorway across the Hungarian border, Romania’s Transfagarasan is now just a day’s trip from Vienna.

.

FORMULA E DEBUTS IN PARIS

But electric racers get lukewarm reception at City Hall.

A Formula E electric racer at Les Invalides, Paris, via FIAFormulaE.com

Despite the deputy mayor recently describing an ‘electric F1 race’ in Paris as an ‘oxymoron’, it seems the French capital will host a round of the Formula E championship next year.

A temporary track will be built around Les Invalides for the opening round of the series’ second season on 23 April 2016.

Mayor Anne Hidalgo said, ‘Paris supports this championship for Formula E cars, because it is a fantastic accelerator for innovation in the field of electric mobility and its promotion in our towns.’

Her comments come after the politician responsible for transport in Paris, deputy mayor Christophe Najdovski – a member of the Green Party – tweeted on 29 June, ‘Organizing an electric F1 in the Paris race is an oxymoron. On a dedicated circuit Yes, in Paris not!’

He hasn’t mentioned the event since on twitter (and neither has Hidalgo).

Despite the apparent conflict at city hall, the emission-free Formula E would seem to be a natural fit in Paris.

As of 1 July this year, a progressive ban on diesel engines was introduced, starting with buses and trucks built before October 2001.

The eventual aim is to remove diesel engines entirely by the end of the decade. At the same time incentives have been introduced to promote zero emission vehicles.

The Formula E Championship was launched in Rome in October 2012. However, the planned race never took place following the election of the firmly anti-car mayor Ignazio Marino in June 2013.

.

A great webcam view of the Oberaar Glacier, at the western end of Oberarsee, a lake at the top of Grimsel Pass in south central Switzerland. The ‘Panoramastasse Oberaar’ is five kilometre road from the pass and is open only one-way at a time. Each direction has a ten minute window every hour: to Oberaar from 00:00-10 and back at 00:30-40. Overlooking the lake is the Mountain Hut Oberaar, a restaurant with rooms available – up to five berth – with dinner and breakfast from 83CHF per person. Open from July to September.

.

roundup: ROMANIA. ‘Any normal prime minister would be too embarrassed to personally open 20km of motorway. Victor Ponta appears to view it as an achievement,’ said the editor of Bucharest Life magazine  Craig Turp on Saturday as the Romanian PM cut the ribbon on the latest section of the A1 motorway, at Nadlac on the Hungarian border. It’s a short but vital section, not just because it smooths the way across the outer Schengen border, with ten lanes in each direction, but also because it links the Romanian motorway network – such as it is – to the European network for the first time. Most importantly for keen drivers – and Top Gear fans – it means there is only 86.4 miles of single lane road remaining on the 1300 miles between Calais and D7C Transfagarasan, Jeremy Clarkson’s favourite road. At just under 500 miles from Vienna, Romania’s blue chip mountain pass near Sibiu is now a day trip from eastern Austria, or – at 345 miles – considerably less than that from Budapest thanks to the new dual carriageway. Transfagarasan’s sister road D67C Transalpina at Sebes is even closer, at 303 miles from the Hungarian capital. The last two sections of A1 in western Romania, plugging the final ninety mile gap, should be completed later this year.

.

The continued threat of further strike action and repeated attempts by migrants to breach security at Eurotunnel in France make for another miserable week on the Channel.

Also, is Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way really the ‘World’s Most Scenic Drive’? Luxembourg petrol prices rises as diesel falls. Tourist handed swingeing fine after unauthorised off-roading in Iceland. Drivers are warned about fake traffic police in the South of France. 

.

PERFECT STORM IN CALAIS

Eurotunnel security under scrutiny as strike negotiations continue.

A new poster at Eurotunnel France highights the risks migrants face, via La Voix du Nord.

There may have been no escalation in the Calais strike but repeated incursions by migrants at Eurotunnel – and the loss of around a quarter of the capacity on the Dover-Calais ferry crossing as strikers continue to occupy two of the former MyFerryLink ships – has meant another week of long delays.

Just as it seemed the situation was starting to get back to normal, a technical problem at Eurotunnel last night saw delays rapidly mount again.

Security at Eurotunnel’s French terminal has been under particular scrutiny, especially after a migrant attempting to board a moving train in the tunnel itself was killed early on Tuesday morning.

It was the second death at the terminal in recent weeks as migrants make daily attempts – usually overnight – to enter the terminal and board trains bound for Britain.

A letter sent to customers – seen by Lloyd’s Loading List – details the extra measures put in place by the Channel Tunnel operator to secure its 650 hectare site in France.

They include a ‘substantial increase’ in security staff and a new inner cordon of 4m high fencing topped with razor wire, currently under construction.

Meanwhile, negotiations with strikers continue with French minister of Transport Alain Vidalies.

Originally scheduled for Tuesday, the meeting eventually took place on Thursday. At the time of writing it seems there is another meeting scheduled for Monday, ahead of Tuesday’s Bastille Day bank holiday.

In the meantime, the strikers have so far made good on their promise not to mount any new blockades.

.

This week the Huffington Post asked if Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way is ‘the World’s Most Scenic Drive?’ The 1600 mile route from Malin Head in the north to Cork in the south, along the west coast, is marked with blue wavy signs the whole way with all hotels, restaurants, attractions and campsites pulled together on the WildAtlanticWay.com website. Photo: the West Mayo Drive via @WildAtlanticWay.

.

roundup: LUXEMBOURG. After yesterday’s fall in the – nationally regulated – price of diesel, petrol prices have actually increased today reports wort.lu. Unleaded95 now sells for €1.301 per litre while unleaded98 is €1.373. In contrast to diesel, second cheapest in the EU – after Andorra with Estonia and Austria not far behind – petrol lags behind eight Member States, mainly in the east but also including Austria (€1.232) according to Fuel Prices Info. ICELAND. A tourist was fined €1500 after off-roading without permission on Tuesday reports Iceland Magazine. The incident left prominent track marks in sands which apparently ‘can take years to disappear’. East Iceland police posted photos of the damage on their website. Off-roading is strictly forbidden in Iceland though tour operators do say the regular, gravel roads in parts of the country mimic what would be considered ‘off-roading’ in many other countries in Europe. FRANCE. Divers are warned to beware of fake traffic police in the South of France, especially overnight. A gang dressed in uniforms has been pulling drivers over using flashing lights. If in doubt do not stop the car the Gendarmerie police chief told France Info radio earlier (via thelocal.fr). It is rare for real police to carry out such operations at night, and they would never search a suspect’s car by the road side he said. Police are hopeful of catching up with the gang soon.

.

They might have their individual issues with road charging but both the UK and Germany broadly go with the flow of EU transport policy.

Also, diesel falls back to near €1/l in Luxembourg, and remains not far off in Austria. The SS51 into the Italian High Dolomites shuts again after a landslide. Disappointing news for the proposed UK-Norway ferry service. Locals give Dutch roads minister a rude surprise.

.

UK AND GERMANY CHERRY PICK EU ROADS POLICY

Emerging trend for EU-favourite ring fenced revenues for roads

The European Commission has known for some years exactly what it want on roads policy.

It tried in 2013 – and will shortly attempt again – to charge vehicles per mile via a GPS-style system.

The charges would vary by vehicle emissions, location and time of day to incentivise for drivers to buy cleaner vehicles and use the roads at less busy times.

Importantly, at least a portion of the revenues raised would be ring fenced for road building and maintenance.

The two phrases underlying the whole approach are ‘the user pays’ and ‘the polluter pays’.

From the Commission’s point of view this is all a neat way of addressing three major problems: congestion, pollution and chronic underinvestment in roads in many EU countries.

At the same time, the technology developed to run the systems would give European companies a leg up in the rapidly emerging global ITS – Intelligent Transport Systems – market.

The issue is politics. The Germans, for instance, don’t like the GPS idea because of acute sensitivity to any form of state surveillance. British motorists don’t like any form of road charging.

What is interesting though is how both governments are following the Commission’s general approach.

In introducing his controversial ‘foreigner toll’, German transport minister Alexander Dobrindt was careful to use the phrases ‘polluter pays’ and ‘user pays’.

The new vignette varies by emissions and, naturally, only those using the roads pay. The revenues go to a ring fenced fund for investment in roads.

Meanwhile, yesterday’s budget might have hauled back slightly on vehicle emissions – only zero-emissions vehicles will be exempt from the reformed Vehicle Excise Duty come 2017 – but in terms of ring fenced revenues for road building George Osborne was right on the money. By the end of the decade every penny will go into a new Roads Fund.

It is easy to imagine much gnashing of teeth in Brussels yesterday afternoon as another major EU country pre-emptively cherry picked the Commission’s transport policy and effectively cut its wider ambitions off at the knees.

But there could also be quiet satisfaction that no matter how fitfully, things are slowly going the Commission’s way.

For more on the fine detail of the UK Road fund and VED reform see Road Pricing blog.

.

Disappointing news last week when the Norwegian Minister of Transport said a ferry to the UK was not a priority. As quoted by StartAUKtoNorwayFerry.com, Ketil Solvik-Olsen says, ‘It is true that we have lost British car tourists on the Western coast of Norway since the Newcastle service terminated, and Norwegians have lost the equal opportunity to go by car to the UK.’ But, he says, ‘Cargo still finds its way across the North Sea, and so do numerous travellers by air. On this basis we have not given priority to a new International service.’ Meanwhile, Norwegian Seaways – now BritishScandinavian – set a deadline for last month to formally announce its proposed service, originally expected to start in March 2016. However, as @FerrytoNorway tells us this morning, ‘June came and went with no announcement! We’re now fearing the worst.’ Photo Atlantic Road, Norway via vegvesen.no.

.

roundup: LUXEMBOURG. A 2.3% drop in the – nationally regulated – price of diesel sees it fall to near the €1/l mark again. As of today, diesel sells for €1.05 according to wort.lu. Meanwhile, unleaded95 continues to cost €1.276 (and unleaded98, €1.351) pending review. In Austria, which has challenged Luxembourg for low fuel prices in recent months, diesel is €1.071 and unleaded95 €1.228 according to Fuel Prices Europe. ITALY. The SS51 Alemagna State Road to Cortina d‘Ampezzo in the High Dolomites closed again last night after a landslide. Two cars were caught in the incident with one woman climbing a tree to escape the deluge. Judging by the photo in Corriere Alpi it will be sometime before it opens again. SS51 – the main route from the south to access passes such as Pordoi, Giau, Campolungo, Falzarego and Valparola – closed briefly late last month after a similar, though lesser, incident. NETHERLANDS. Infrastructure minister Melanie Schultz got rather more than she bargained for today when formally handing back the N259 to the town of Steenbergen near the Belgian border. Locals unhappy with the noise and disruption of the new A4 – which now bypasses the town, downgrading the N259 – presented her with a metre high carved wooden penis. The new stretch of A4 opened late last year, speeding traffic between Schiphol, Rotterdam and Antwerp.

.

Listing the less well known Pyrenees and Alps mountain roads in this year’s Tour de France.

Also, Porsche takes the Cayenne on an ambitious road trip through the Caucasus Mountains, including the Georgian Military Road.

.

The Jaguar F-Pace prototype SUV made its public debut alongside the Team SKY on day one of the Tour de France in Utrecht on Saturday; unfortunately it won’t accompany the riders in the Alps or Pyrenees. Photo @Jaguar

The mountains roads on the Tour de France are almost scientifically chosen to maintain the challenge on the world’s toughest cycling race, with an eye on a photogenic background.

In among the classics – this year including Cols d’Aspin, du Tourmalet, Portet d’Aspet in the Pyrenees, and d’Allos, du Glandon, de la Croix de Fer and Alpe d’Huez in the Alps – there are several lesser known roads which are surely worth checking out.

The first day in the Pyrenees, Tuesday 14 July, sees the riders on a chain of passes as they make their way to the Spanish border at La Pierre Saint Martin: Col du Soudet, Col de Labays, Pas de Guilhers and finally the Col de la Pierre St Martin.

After Col de Portet d’Aspet on the final day, Thursday 16 July, competitors tackle Col de la Core and Port de Lers.

The first day in the Alps is Monday 20 July, on the Col de Cabre and Col de Manse on the way between Valence and Gap.

After a rest day, Wednesday 22 July sees Col des Lesques, Col de Toutes Aures, Col de la Colle-Saint-Michel – Col d’Allos – and Pra Loup.

The day after starts with N85 Route Napoleon and Col Bayard then Col de Malissol, Col de la Morte – Col du Glandon – and one of our most dreaded Alp’s roads, the tight, cascading Lacets de Montvernier.

Du Glandon features again on the Friday, in between Cols de Chassy and de la Croix de Fer then Col du Mollard and La Toussuire.

The penultimate day of the Tour, and final day in the Alps on Saturday 25 July, features Col de la Croix de Fer and Alpe d’Huez after the landslide on the Grenoble-Briancon road ruled out Col de Galibier.

The Tour de France Alps schedule: Sunday 19 July – Col du Bez, Col de la Croix de Bauzon and Col de l’Escrinet. Monday 20 July – Col de Cabre and Col de Manse. Wednesday 22 July – Col des Lesques, Col de Toutes Aures, Col de la Colle-Saint-Michel, Col d’Allos and Pra Loup. Thursday 23 July – Col Bayard, Col de Malissol, Col de la Morte, Col du Glandon and the Lacets de Montvernier. Friday 24 July – Col de Chaussy, Col du Glandon, Col de la Croix de Fer, Col du Mollard and La Toussuire. Saturday 25 July – Col de la Croix de Fer and Alpe d’Huez.

See here for the Pyrenees schedule, 14-16 July. See all these roads on PassFinder. Read a profile of Tour de France mountain roads on Podium Café.

.

Porsche’s in-house Christophorous magazine takes a Cayenne on a road trip from Trabazon in eastern Turkey to Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, via the ‘Lord of the Rings’ landscape of the S2 Georgian Military Road in the Caucasus mountains. ‘We quickly learned that in Georgia, even if your road is marked on the map with a thick red line, it means nothing more than that the road exists… the further we drive into the countryside, the worse the roads become. They start off well paved, then we see a few potholes here and there, and suddenly we’re on a bumpy gravel road which soon begins climbing and winding its way through the Meskheti mountain range.’

.

Some rare good news on road safety in France as minister unveils the first new mobile ‘double tap’ speed camera, but also a reduced traffic police presence this summer.

Also, a new motorway link in Lyon smooths the way between Bordeaux and Geneva as the end of road works at Charleroi clears the path from Lille to Liege. Ahead of the first Black Saturday in France, holiday traffic has been noticeably less intense than forecast, so far. The Russian parliament approves the challenging Kerch Bridge to Crimea.

.

SPEEDING THROUGH FRANCE

Fewer police but more speed cameras this summer.

A German driver, caught twice – at 210kmh and 235kmh on the A31 in north east France on 1 July – had his licence confiscated and paid two €750 fines, the typical penalty for speeds of more than 50kmh over the limit. Photo via @Gendarmerie.

Thirteen thousand traffic police will patrol the French road network this summer said interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve on Saturday.

It might sound a lot but is considerably less than the fifteen thousand on duty last year, and the 18,000 over Christmas 2014 and 22,000 at New Year.

However, investment in speed cameras continues. Cazeneuve also unveiled a new generation of mobile ‘double tap’ speed cameras, on the A6 at Fleury, south of Paris.

The new cameras take photos of the front and back of speeding vehicles and can be deployed quickly to danger spots or protect road workers.

Mobile radars have a tolerance of 10kmh below 100kmh and 10% above, e.g. they will not activate until 144kmh in a 130kmh zone says LegisPermis.com.

Fixed radar cameras have a tolerance of 5% on speeds of less than 100kmh and 5% above.

Cazeneuve also announced a five percent fall in road deaths in June, only the second monthly fall so far in 2015. In 2014 road deaths rose for the first time in more than a decade and have risen by three percent so far this year.

Meanwhile, there is a sudden flurry of speeding stories. As well as the German Porsche 911 driver caught in eastern France last week, pictured above, a teenager – accompanied by his mother – was clocked at 147kmh in an 80kmh zone near Toulouse on Sunday and a biker in Nantes was finally caught after being flashed 41 times by the same camera.

Gendarmerie also tweeted about a helicopter based anti-speed operation in the Gorges du Verdon at the weekend.

It was also revealed today by newspaper Le Soir that Belgian drivers are flashed an average of 1150 times each day in France. Since a new information sharing directive was introduced in November 2013, drivers from EU countries except the UK, Ireland and Denmark can be prosecuted at home for traffic offences committed abroad.

.

A link between the A6 and A46 north of Lyon opened on Saturday morning, smoothing the way on the so-called ‘TransEuropean’ axis between Bordeaux and Geneva, France’s first full length east-west motorway. Meanwhile, work is due to start imminently on the connection between the A89 and A6 to the north west of the city for completion in late 2017. Of more immediate use is the newly widened three-lane A71 north of Vierzon, a regular bottleneck on Black Saturday headlong rushes south.

.

roundup: BELGIUM. The road widening and resurfacing work on the A15/E42 at Charleroi, regularly responsible for delays in excess of 45mins in recent months, has now finished. Three lanes in each direction are now open. It clears the way for drivers between Lille and Liege – apart from minor works at Namur – very handy during the on-going renovation of the E40 at Gent. Phase one of the E40 work is now also finished. The second and final phase should be complete by mid-July Hajo Beeckman from the Flanders traffic centre Verkeerscentrum tells us this morning. HOLIDAY TRAFFIC. The weekend holiday getaways have so far been noticably much less busy than anticipated. Apart from delays of more than an hour on the A7 south from Lyon to Avignon, and some traffic along the A10 Paris-Bordeaux, Saturday’s Grand Vacances departure in France was something of a damp squib. Similarly, except for a mass of drivers heading north through Hamburg and Lubeck, Germany was significantly quieter on Saturday than the previous week which, while certainly busy, was also less so than forecast. Whether this means fewer holidaymakers are travelling by car this year, or postponing journeys for quieter times, remains to be seen: this Saturday is the first Black Saturday in France, for traffic heading south along the A7 Lyon-Avignon. The A9 from Montpellier to the Spanish border also expected to be very busy (see more on Black Saturdays in France). Meanwhile, every Saturday until 8 August carries the highest congestion alert in Germany. Next week sees that extended for the first time to a Friday. This Saturday also sees the first heavy holiday getaway in Austria. RUSSIA. Parliament has formally approved plans for a Kerch Bridge to Crimea reports The Moscow Times. According to the new law, the $4bn project will be completed by December 2018 at the latest. As expected, construction firm Stroigazmontazh, majority owned by Arkady Rotenberg, an ally of President Putin, has been awarded the contract to build the technically challenging road and rail bridge. It will be the only fixed link between the Russian mainland and its recently acquired Crimea peninsula. 

.

It is easy to assume H3 between Chur and St Moritz is a regular road. In reality it reaches almost 7,500ft at the Julier Pass. The only danger however is bringing teenagers along for the ride.

.

Julier Pass, eastern Switzerland. Photo @DriveEurope

It is not obvious from the map that Julier Pass reaches the lofty heights of 2284m (7493ft).

Despite a few squiggles, H3 between Chur, the regional capital of south eastern Switzerland – Graudbunden – and Silvaplana (St Moritz) in the Engadin Valley looks like just a regular road.

But then there are few regular roads through the Alps, in this case the Albula Alps which lie mainly in Graubunden but extend into Italy and Austria too.

The road takes its name from Piz Julier, 3380m (11090ft) which overlooks from the north with Piz Lagrev 3165m (10384ft) to the south.

The Albula Alps are part of the Rhaetian Alps in the western part of the Central Eastern Alps. The major ranges run north-south: Ratikon, Silvretta, Albula and Bernina.

Keen mountain drivers will recognise some famous names in there. Meanwhile, the big roads in the Albula Alps are Albula, Fluela and Maloja Passes.

Because it is an important connection, Julier was partly rebuilt in 2009 to take out some hairpins, reduce the slope to a maximum 12% and hence keep it open all year round.

It might have taken the bite out slightly but the views remain, of the typically otherworldly Albula rocky landscape.

Julier is not quite as straightforward as Simplon but again it’s a relatively easy way above 2000m.

There is just one warning: drivers may want distract teenagers and sensitive souls on the northern stretch. H3 passes through the middle of the unfortunately named Cunter.

.

Piz Julier, 3380m (11090ft) which overlooks the pass from the north.

Heading south to the Engadin Valley from Julier Pass.

Looking back up the southern slope in winter. Photo via Wikipedia.

A beaver.

.

.

With a temporary ceasefire declared the recovery from the Calais strike continues apace. What might happen next week however is anyone’s guess. Article corrected.

Also, interesting pieces of European infrastructure celebrate important milestones this week. And, looking ahead to the weekend traffic: busy France, jams Germany and Switzerland plus major road closures in Belgium and Germany.

.

NO NEW STRIKES UNTIL TUESDAY

Union vows no new action pending roundtable negotiations next week.

Strikers still occupy the fomer MyFerryLink ships in Calais. Photograher not known, via @Twitter.

The boss of Calais threatened to throw a spanner in the works this afternoon but otherwise the situation continues to improve dramatically.

As P&O gets back into its stride Dover-Calais, DFDS continues with a four ship service Dover-Dunkirk, and Eurotunnel freight maintains a consistent six crossings per hour service, the Operation Stack freight queue on the M20 lifted hours ahead of time this afternoon, and similarly the trucks lanes on the A16, A26 and A25 around the French Channel ports.

The regular Sunday truck ban is being relaxed in Pas-de-Calais this weekend to allow remaining vehicles to cross.

Tony Essam found it slow going off the A26 this morning but got through without too much trouble. He is now on his way to the British Grand Prix. Truck driver Jockey Brown drove straight into the port after lunch and was not unhappy it took just 2h30 to check-in for the 17:55 boat back to the UK. Getting into Dunkirk however can take up to two hours.

Frustrated that one of his biggest customers was being prevented from mooring, Jean-Marc Puissesseau, President of the CCI-Opal Coast, threatened to shut the port entirely from 12:00 unless the strikers allowed DFDS to dock.

Thankfully he relented later in the afternoon but not without sparking a wave of anxiety.

Though they still occupy two former-MyFerryLink ships, the strikers promised not to escalate the action, for the time being, after a meeting with French transport minister Alain Vidalies yesterday.

However, as the British Ambassador to France Peter Ricketts tweeted this afternoon, ‘Relieved that blockage of Calais Port cleared and traffic flowing. But further disruption possible later next week so check travel advice.’

Vidalies was due to meet Eurotunnel boss Jacques Gounon today and will see DFDS boss Niels Smedegaard on Monday. All three protagonists join the minister on Tuesday for a roundtable meeting. The union is now due to meet the minister again on Thursday. It’s after that the fun may start again.

Also read the Independent‘s profile of strike leader Eric Vercoutre, ‘a man with everything and nothing to lose’, and about the British truck driver who himself blockaded the strikers after a meeting at the union offices in Calais!

.

Ageing Infrastructure: the Oresund Link between Denmark and Sweden (above) is fifteen years old this week, the Mont Blanc Tunnel is fifty and the Nardo test track in southern Italy is forty.

.

WEEKEND TRAFFIC: the first busy weekend of the summer in France as schools break up, particularly Paris today as drivers head to the south and west coasts, then Paris and the Alps tomorrow. Germany faces another very busy Saturday, likely busier than last week as the schools in Belgium and the Netherlands break up for the holidays. Traffic levels will be raised in Austria and Italy but next weekend is when the season really starts. Meanwhile tomorrow is a Black Saturday in Switzerland again with likely very long queues both ways at the Gotthard Tunnel. With delays of more than an hour, TCS advises drivers to use the alternative A13 San Bernardino route> However, access to the Gotthard Pass is easier now the alternate traffic road works are suspended at weekends.

Read more on coping with busy roads in France and Germany.

MAJOR ROAD CLOSURES: Belgium: A21 southbound to Antwerp at Zoersel, resurfacing. Reopens Monday morning. Germany, all in both directions: A3 Würzburg-Nuremberg, east Wurzburg from 19:30 Saturday to 07:00 Sunday; A5 Karlsruhe-Darmstadt at Heidelberg from 22:00 Friday to 22:00 Sunday; A7 Hamburg-Flensburg at Hamburg East 22:00 Friday to 05:00 Monday.

WEEKEND WEATHER: no relief from recent high temperatures says the BBC though some storms in north west France.

.