The Route nationale 205 is a Route nationale of France that is located entirely within the Department of Haute-Savoie. It starts off from the France–Switzerland border in the commune of Gaillard which is adjacent to Geneva; and ends at Chamonix, at the French side of the Mont Blanc Tunnel. It is also nicknamed the Route blanche (white route) due to its snowiness, and shares the title with the A40 autoroute, also nicknamed the Autoroute blanche.

National road 205 shield
National road 205
Route nationale 205
Route Blanche
Route information
Part of E25 (section between Passy and the Mont Blanc Tunnel)
Maintained by ATMB
Length88 km (55 mi)
Existed1973–present
Major junctions
Northwest end at Gaillard
Major intersections 1 Annemasse D 1206

2 Contamine-sur-Arve D 903
3 Bonneville D 1203
4 Cluses D 902
5 Sallanches D 1212
6 Passy E25 / A 40 / D 902

7 Chamonix D 1506
Southeast end A 40 T 1 / A 5 at Mont Blanc Tunnel
Location
CountryFrance
Highway system
  • Roads in France

Route

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The rows shown in yellow are the endpoints of the RN205.

Communes that the RN205 passes through
Distance Commune Canton
0 km Gaillard (France-Switzerland border) Gaillard
2 km Ambilly Annemasse
3 km Annemasse Annemasse
11 km Nangy La Roche-sur-Foron
15 km Contamine-sur-Arve Bonneville
23 km Bonneville Bonneville
30 km Vougy Bonneville
37 km Cluses Cluses
53 km Sallanches Sallanches
56 km Domancy Sallanches
61 km Passy Le Mont-Blanc
67 km Servoz Le Mont-Blanc
72 km Les Houches Le Mont-Blanc
88 km Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (Mont Blanc Tunnel) Le Mont-Blanc

History

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This road was created following the reform of 1972, taking over several sections of old national roads:

  • the RN 505 from Gaillard to Contamine-sur-Arve (Findrol);
  • a section of the RN 203 from Contamine-sur-Arve to Bonneville;
  • a section of the RN 506 from Bonneville to Cluses;
  • a section of the RN 202 from Cluses to Passy;[1]
  • a section of the RN 506 from Passy to Chamonix-Mont-Blanc;
  • the RN 506a from Chamonix-Mont-Blanc to the Mont-Blanc tunnel.

It was split by the A40 motorway, which opened from Gaillard to Passy between 1973 and 1976.

The decree of December 5, 2005 provided for the conservation of the Passy section, at the end of the A 40 motorway, up to the Mont-Blanc tunnel; the section not concerned is downgraded to departmental road 1205 and its management is entrusted to the General Council of Haute-Savoie.

The national road network is made up of the following routes, shown on the attached maps ("Entire France" and "Ile-de-France"):
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.
.
34. The Saône valley (Mâcon, A 6) -Italy (Mont Blanc tunnel) link provided, on the one hand, north of Mâcon, by the section of the A 40 motorway (between the A 6 motorway and Saint-André-de-Bagé) and, on the other hand, south of Mâcon, by the national road 79 (between the A 6 motorway and the A 406 motorway) and the A 406 motorway (between the national road 79 and the A 40-Saint-André-de-Bagé motorway), then the A 40 motorway and the 205 national road (between the A 40 motorway at Le Fayet and the Mont Blanc tunnel), including the motorway A 404 (Oyonnax slip road) and the link project between the A 40 motorway and Thonon.

— Decree n° 2005-1499 of 5 December 2005 relating to the consistency of the national road network, [2]

However, since May 1, 2010, the RN 205 has been granted to the company ATMB, which already operates the A40 autoroute and the Mont Blanc tunnel.

RN 205 is planned to be the first public electric road in France. Alstom will trial its electric road system in the Rhône-Alpes region between 2024 and 2027.[3][4]

Before the Reform

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Before the 1972 reform, there was an RN 205 in the Alpes-Maritimes.

It was initially to connect Nice to Barcelonnette via the top of the Bonette. Border conflicts will mean that the road will not reach the bordering department of Basses-Alpes and another road had to be built by the Col de la Cayolle to reach Barcelonnette. The route from Nice to the Pont de la Mescla was integrated into the RN202 in 1920. The RN 205 stopped at Pont-Haut in the town of Saint-Dalmas-le-Selvage and the Alpes-Maritimes General Council completed the route leading to the Col de la Bonette.

The RN 205 is downgraded to RD 2205 following the reform of 1972. Since 2012, this road has been named M 2205, the municipalities crossed being members of the Nice Côte d'Azur metropolis.

The route went through:

References

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  1. ^ "VILLE DE PASSY MONT BLANC - Accueil". www.ville-passy-mont-blanc.fr (in French). Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  2. ^ "Décret n°2005-1499 du 5 décembre 2005 relatif à la consistance du réseau routier national". www.legifrance.gouv.fr. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  3. ^ Jean-Philippe Pastre (June 30, 2023), "L'APS d'Alstom bientôt testé sur les routes", TRM24
  4. ^ "Les aides proposées par ATMB à ses clients légers et lourds pour la décarbonation des transports", ATMB, June 30, 2023