Crossing The Seine west of Rouen

[Zawn Kellys]

We are cycling south from Dieppe in a few weeks and hoped to take a route west of Rouen. Has anyone any experience / tips of cycling across the Pont de Brotonne or perhaps of the ferry at Duclair. We will be there either on a Saturday or Sunday.

Thank you

[robgul]

Cycling is not permitted on the bridge - there are clear signs saying so.

Rob

[andrew_s]

There are a number of small ferries that are free, and run every 20 minutes or so between early and late, apart from an hour lunch break.
They are at Quillebeuf, Yainville, Jumieges, Mesnil-sous-Jumieges, Duclair, La Bouille, and a couple in the downstream half of Rouen
Timetables here (download): http://www.seinemaritime.fr/docs/horaires-bacs.pdf

The Seine is navigable by quite large ships up as far as Rouen, and I would suppose it's port charges on the ships that pay for the ferries

[Graham]

Cycling is not permitted on the bridge - there are clear signs saying so.Rob

Have things changed ??
In 2010 I rode across this bridge in both directions, astonished by the complete traffic lane, in each direction, dedicated to cyclists !

Streetview June 2016 shows work in progress with temporary contraflow traffic on one side whilst the other is closed.
https://goo.gl/maps/UQ8ygJnTtkm

EDIT
Mixed messages on the south side :
https://goo.gl/maps/wXj2XfVoV3q

I cannot find any info to say whether the cycle tracks are open now.

In view of the uncertainty, plan your workaround.

[tatanab]

Mixed messages on the south side

That sign does not mean "no cycling", it is simply the end of the separated cycle route.
Given the choice between a windswept bridge or a free ferry I think I'd leave my hair shirt at home and take the boat.

[Graham]

Back in 2010 I was puzzled by -
Nearly 50% ( width ) of the carriageway over the bridge was dedicated as cycle track. ( I thought I had arrived in heaven. )
https://goo.gl/maps/SRx1Azfo8WF2

For such a huge structure the motor traffic seemed to be very light . . . Why did they build such a huge bridge there, linking nowhere to nowhere ?

Over the last few years there appears to have been a major program of works on the bridge to rectify some structural issues with the pylons/footings/concrete.

Maybe it was a happy coincidence that by designating the wide cyclepaths they could prevent four lanes of traffic overloading the defective structure until the corrective works were complete ?
Otherwise it seemed rather odd. Does anyone know the full story of the Pont de Brotonne ?

[robgul]

Mixed messages on the south side

That sign does not mean "no cycling", it is simply the end of the separated cycle route.
Given the choice between a windswept bridge or a free ferry I think I'd leave my hair shirt at home and take the boat.

A local contact told me that cycling was not permitted (we enquired having planned to possibly use the bridge)

Rob

[andrew_s]

Why did they build such a huge bridge there, linking nowhere to nowhere ?

It's a choice of either a big bridge or no bridge, and it doesn't take much traffic to overtax the small river ferries.
If they put in a small bridge, the ships passing upstream wouldn't fit underneath

[RickH]

Back in 2010 I was puzzled by -
Nearly 50% ( width ) of the carriageway over the bridge was dedicated as cycle track. ( I thought I had arrived in heaven. )

From the road markings on earlier iterations of Streetview (rather than the 2016 roadworks) the lane was shared use - shared with tractors!
https://goo.gl/maps/2kniajxQt9z

[Winfried]

We are cycling south from Dieppe in a few weeks and hoped to take a route west of Rouen. Has anyone any experience / tips of cycling across the Pont de Brotonne or perhaps of the ferry at Duclair. We will be there either on a Saturday or Sunday.

The Pont de Brotonne is open to bicycles, but it's a 2x2 with no bike tracks, steep incline, heavy traffic, and possibly heavy sidewind:



Looks similar to the dreaded Pont de Saint-Nazaire at the end of the Loire à vélo :-/

Cycle.travel suggests this route instead.

For the ferry from MeSNiL SoUS JUMieGeS > YVILLE, the map includes a link to the PDF, but here's a screenshot: