Announced at the end of 2024, and voted on at the beginning of 2025 by the department’s council, a return to 90 km/h on the Eure motorway is almost beyond doubt. However, we have to wait for the green light from the department’s road safety commission, which met this week in the prefecture, to make it official.
And this now follows a vote adopting the principle of increasing official speeds by 10 km/h on most of the department’s 324 roads outside the relevant urban areas, representing a total of 2,600 km of roads.
Reducing the speed to 80 km/h did not have the expected effect
For Alexandre Rassaërt, president of the Department: “Lowering the speed to 80 km/h did not have the expected impact in terms of accidents. The number of road deaths and many more injuries was almost as high. After five years of experimentation, we put an end to this inconclusive measure that was harming the lives of everyone living and working in rural areas.”
But the safety commission has identified parts that require caution. Therefore, he wants to reduce the speed to 70 km/h on the 54 km long road, and even to 50 km/h on the two kilometer section.
Some mayors oppose it
These restrictions are mainly related to safety issues (curving, reduced visibility, sensitive areas), but also, according to the department, due to the requests of certain mayors who want speeds reduced in their municipal areas.
The community now has to make these decisions on music. First of all by issuing a decree setting the maximum speed permitted on departmental roads to be 90 km/h. Then by installing new signage at a cost of around 200,000 euros. “New sign 90 km/h (Editor’s Note: almost 200) — will be installed at department entry points and department networks in early 2026, with effective implementation no later than February 11, 2026,” the elected official explained.
