New stretch of contested A69 motorway in south-west France opens
Entire road should be fully operational by mid-October
The new section of road is part of the former A680 managed by Vinci Autoroutes
Hadrian/Shutterstock
A section of the contested Toulouse-Castres A69 motorway in south-west France has opened today (June 4).
The nine-km stretch of road between Gragnague and Verfeil (Haute-Garonne) is part of the former A680, managed by Vinci Autoroutes.
“Motorists will benefit from two lanes in each direction and a new junction in the town of Verfeil,” said Vinci Autoroutes in a statement published yesterday (June 3).
“This development marks a concrete step in transforming this existing route into one with appropriate motorway infrastructure,” it continued.
Motorists are warned that finishing works may continue over the coming weeks and the speed limit will remain at 110 km/h as work continues on the rest of the A69, which will not be fully operational until mid-October, a source at concessionaire Atosca told ICI Occitanie.
Once completely open, the A69 is set to adopt flux libre, making it the first ‘smart motorway’ in Occitanie to use the fully barrier-free road system - intended to improve traffic flow, safety, and to reduce air pollution by eliminating péages (toll booths), states Atosca on its website.
It will be the fourth motorway in France to use this system, after the A79 in Allier, the A13-A14 between Paris and Normandy, and part of the A4 (Boulay exit).
A contested project
Construction to increase the size of the A680 began in late 2023 and has been delayed reaching this stage due to disruption linked to protests and legal rulings to pause works last year.
Environmental protestors have staged several demonstrations along the A69 route over the years, claiming that the road’s construction is destroying rare habitats in the area and leading to an avoidable increase in pollution.
The protestors also undertook a legal battle which culminated in Toulouse’s administrative court issuing a ruling to halt construction of the motorway in February 2025 over environmental concerns - despite the fact the motorway was more than half-built at the time.
The French State appealed the Toulouse court’s decision, and in May 2025 a new ruling allowed for work to continue in June 2025 while the appeal was being reviewed by the courts.
In December, an official rapporteur public recommended to judges that a lower court decision to halt work on the A69 motorway in south-west France should be fully overturned, with a ruling on the matter taking place in January 2026.
