The ''Autostrada A6'' is an Italian

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

opened in 1960 which connects

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...

, the southernmost area of

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, especially the

Cuneo Cuneo (; pms, Coni ; oc, Coni/Couni ; french: Coni ) is a city and '' comune'' in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) ...

province, to the west coast of

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

and the city of

Savona Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea. Savona used to be one of the chief seats ...

. Its construction finished in 2001, when it was completely overhauled into a two-road motorway

History

Construction

The motorway was built in stages starting in 1956. It began with the Savona – Ceva stretch being inaugurated on 27 January 1960. Work began shortly after in 1961 on the Ceva – Fossano stretch, including a connection to the city of Fossano and to the SS 28 for Turin. In May 1970, the Moncalieri – La Rotta section opened, followed by the Marene – Fossano stretch in July of the same year. Finally, in 1972, the initial Turin – Moncalieri – La Rotta section was built, with a separate roadway to Carmagnola.

The Fiat track

In 1972, a second roadway was put into operation in direction to Savona. This roadway was located in the stretch between Carmagnola and the Rio Coloré West service area. This roadway was used exclusively by FIAT as a test track for higher speeds. The track began three kilometers (approximately 1.86 miles) from the Carmagnola junction, with the terminal square being just before the service area. There is also a square that was used as a technical track at overpass number 33, just 25.400 km in. Claudio Maglioli was known to have used the track to try and bring a Lancia LC2 to the record speed of 387 km/hr in preparation for the Le Mans race.

Dangers and safety concerns

The single roadway of the highway was considered very dangerous from marker 13 to 110 km, as the middle lane was used regularly for passing by both directions. Head-on collisions were common, with 91 incidents and three deaths in 1971 alone. For this, the highway was dubbed the "highway of death". At one point in 1980, the number of fatal accidents was so high, judicial authorities ordered the closure of the highway in the Ceva – Altare section towards Savona. This was ordered on 17 July 1980; not long after, on 1 October that year, the highway was reopened. The central passing lane was removed, and the speed limit was lowered to 70 km/h.

Doubling

In 1973, the doubling of Savona – Altare began, with the inauguration being in 1976. Later on in 1989, plans to double the stretch from Priero to Altare began. Work began in December 1993 and ended in July 1995. Four exits ceased use: Moncalieri "La Rotta" at the 3 km marker, the Vicoforte sanctuary at 67 km, Montezemolo at 92 km, and Carcare. Sections of the plain were affected by works starting from Carmagnola using the sediment from the FIAT track. This began in 1991 and ended in 2001, which was also the end of the entire doubling plan.

The highway today

Since 2001, the A6, known as "La Verdemare", has safety regulations similar to main Italian roadways. The system develops through landscapes and open territories, such as the border between Piedmont and Liguria, most notably the Savona – Altare Apennine stretch. The A6 also passes the Colle di Cadibona at 435m, a watershed between the Ligurian Apennines and the Po Valley in 14 km with an uninterrupted route of tunnels and viaducts and, exclusive to Italy, a helical curve in the south roadway. The A6 is also connected to the new Autostrada A33 Asti – Cuneo. The Asti East tollgate of the A21 Torino – Piacenza – Brescia will take you through Alba to the tollgate of the A6. The concessionary company is Autostrada dei Fiori, which is controlled by SIAS (Gavio group). The entire route coincides with the European road E717 and, at the junction for Fossano, branches off to a link that leads to the SS28.

Electronic speed control

In two sections of each roadway, the average speed is monitored by the Tutor system, implemented between the Carmagnola and Marene stations (both roadways), near Priero (north roadway only), and Quiliano (south roadway only). The effectiveness of the system in the Carmagnola – Marene section is considered limited due to the presence of the Rio Coloré Service Area in the section.

Route table

Fossano Junction

The Fossano Junction, which is only a single roadway, have signs indicating the beginning and end of the highway. Signs indicate the overpass as being a part of the A6 highway. According to the internal numbering of Autostrade per l'Italia, the link is classified as a ''D06 branch.'' Legislative Decree 461 of 29 October 1999 included the link as national interest and classified it as part of the A6. The junction extends for 6.1 km from the start of the junction.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:A6, Autostrada A06 Transport in Piedmont Transport in Liguria