[I] Autostrade e Superstrade • Italian highways and freeways

[italystf]

Yesterday a crazy/suicide/criminal driver made an U-turn inside a tunnel on the A27 near Belluno killing a 28 y.o. boy. His justification was 'I missed my exit'.

[WalkTheWorld]

Originally Posted by g.spinoza

Believe me, I know how much I payed.

Maniva Pass (1664m) today (taken by me):

The pass is on the right, road goes down crossing the centre of the image and down left. The road going left and up from Maniva pass leads to Crocedominii pass (1892m), but it was closed.

Picture taken from the road leading to Baremone pass (1450m). Lots of passes in province of Brescia!

Crocedomini still closed? Hot damn!

[g.spinoza]

Originally Posted by WalkTheWorld

Crocedomini still closed? Hot damn!

I don't think it was due to snow, though. At Maniva pass there was none, and neither was present during my hike to the Corna Blacca, a 2000+ m mountain nearby. Crocedomini is lower...

[WalkTheWorld]

Originally Posted by g.spinoza

I don't think it was due to snow, though. At Maniva pass there was none, and neither was present during my hike to the Corna Blacca, a 2000+ m mountain nearby. Crocedomini is lower...

Yep but the problem is the first mile of the southbound stretch. It is openly exposed to avalanches and falling debris fron a very steep and barren slope topping 2400. They've funded some artificial tunnels but still not enough. The road is probably open till the Bazena parking. Just above the tree line.

[g.spinoza]

Originally Posted by Suburbanist

Apparently, what had been speculated has been confirmed: the new Frejus Safety Tunnel, under construction already, will be converted to be a road tunnel instead.

That way, each bore will only carry traffic in one direction.

I just realized it will become one of the longest two-tubes tunnels in the world.
Only Zhongnanshan in China and Hsuehshan in Taiwan will be longer.

[brick84]

Naples-Salerno: new junction opened Portici-Ercolano

The work is part of the enlargement and modernization of the A3 Napoli-Salerno

http://www.lestradedellinformazione....colo10313.html

[g.spinoza]

Originally Posted by g.spinoza

Works on TEM, the External East Tangenziale of Milan, are going to start next June 11th, in the territory of Trucazzano.
http://www.lestradedellinformazione....colo10120.html
Works will last 1130 days, for the completion of the whole 32-km-long autostrada. However, works on the so-called "Arco TEM", a 3-km-long section of the autostrada due to connect BreBeMi with the city of Milan, through superstrade "Rivoltana" and "Cassanese", will have to be completed by next year, when BreBeMi is going to open.

Works started yesterday, right on schedule.

[geor]

g.spinoza do you know(have) any safety statistics or other information on Italian motorway with higher speed limit(140-150km/h), or could you give me the link(in English)?

[g.spinoza]

There are no Italian motorways with more than 130 km/h speed limit. There was a proposal to introduce 150 km/h in some stretches but it has been scrapped.

[danielstan]

If I well remember I have travelled in 2008 on a highway between Verona and Milan, with 3 lanes, and the speed limit was 150km/h on some sections.

I found this on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autostrade_of_Italy

...
Speed

Italy's autostrade have a standard speed limit of 130 km/h (81 mph) for cars. Limits for other vehicles (or during foul weather and/or low visibility) are lower. Legal provisions allow operators to set the limit to 150 km/h (93 mph) on their concessions on a voluntary basis if these conditions are met: three lanes in each direction and a working SICVE, or Safety Tutor, speed-camera system.
...

[Road_UK]

You remembered wrong. There is no way the A4 between Milan and Verona has ever been 150...

There are legal provisions enabling the operators to set the limit to 150 km/h on their concessions on a voluntary basis, only if some conditions are met: 3 lanes in each direction, SICVE (also called Safety Tutor) speed camera system etc, but it has never been applied as of 2012.

[g.spinoza]

Originally Posted by danielstan

If I well remember I have travelled in 2008 on a highway between Verona and Milan, with 3 lanes, and the speed limit was 150km/h on some sections.

I found this on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autostrade_of_Italy

Believe me, no 150 km/h has ever been allowed in Italy.

[Eddard Stark]

Nor it will in the future, hopefully

[geor]

[QUOTEThere are no Italian motorways with more than 130 km/h speed limit. There was a proposal to introduce 150 km/h in some stretches but it has been scrapped.[/QUOTE]

Thank you g.spinoza

[g.spinoza]

Originally Posted by geor

[QUOTEThere are no Italian motorways with more than 130 km/h speed limit. There was a proposal to introduce 150 km/h in some stretches but it has been scrapped.

Thank you g.spinoza[/QUOTE]

You're welcome. I have to correct myself, since Road_UK is right: the proposal hasn't been scrapped, it has been introduced but so far no company applied for it.

[Satyricon84]

The sections interested by the 150 Km/h speed limit are:

_A4 Milano-Brescia between Cavenago and Brescia Ovest, opposite direction between Brescia Ovest and Agrate;
_ A4 Brescia-Verona between Brescia est and Sommacampagna; opposite direction between Sommacampagna and Peschiera and between Desenzano and Brescia Est;
- A1 Milano-Napoli between San Zenone al Lambro and the junction with the A14, opposite direction between the junction and San Zenone and in both ways between Orte and Caserta Nord;
- A8 Milano-Varese between Legnano and Gallarate, opposite direction between Busto Arsizio and Origgio Ovest;
- A14 Bologna-Taranto both directions between the junction A14-raccordo Casalecchio and Rimini Nord.

but as already said, never applied for it so far. For the companies this is no worth they are afraid this could increase accidents. And the toll is calcuted according to a mathematic formula that consider crashes inverse proportion to the toll. In few words, more a highway is secure with less crashes and more you pay the toll.

[hofburg]

pasante di mestre could be 150kmh as well.

[Suburbanist]

I think they should make an experiment with some expiration date.

One year in a couple sectors that have full variable signaling.

Here in the Netherlands they were all doom and gloom about an increase from 120 to 130, they did a test and - guess what - accident or fatality rated DID NOT increase.

[g.spinoza]

Increasing from 120 to 130 and from 130 to 150 is quite different.

Besides, spending unnecessary money to do these kinds of experiments now is... unnecessary.

[ChrisZwolle]

I think the Dutch experiment with 130 km/h was one of the best documented trials for a speed limit increase. However, some advocates still claim horrible effects on traffic safety for a fairly trivial thing like 10 km/h faster. People who wanted to drive 130 km/h already did it. The average speed barely increased.

Austria experimented with 160 km/h a couple of years ago on A10 northwest of Villach. The next government canceled it and I've never seen any results of that test. Maybe because the results were politically not correct in an environmentally-aware country like Austria. There is a good chance there was barely any measurable impact on traffic safety and emission of noise and pollutants.