Bellac is 30 km (19 mi) west of the A20 Limoges-Orléans motorway, and lies at a crossroads where the RN145 crosses the RN147. Both these roads had been designated part of the Route Centre-Europe Atlantique [fr] (RCEA) and were thus at risk of being upgraded to motorway. However, the latest thinking is that the RCEA will be re-routed from La Souterraine south down the A20 to Limoges and then via upgraded to the N520/N141 routes to Angoulême and the west.