Tunisia's A1 or A-1 motorway is a 659 km road connecting

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

and Ben Guerdane. In the map shown, the A-1 is in red. The highway was built from

at the north end toward the south and is continuing to be extended to finally reach the Tunisian Libyan border. The A-1 is conceived of as part of an international project, sometimes called the Trans-Maghreb or Trans-North Africa HighwayFrédéric Dubessy
Jigsaw of Trans-North Africa Highway nears completion
21 May 2013 or Trans-African Highway 1 that is planned to reach from Cairo to Dakar. There are three lanes each way from Tunis to Hammamet then two lanes each way from Hammamet to Sfax. It is a

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...

part of the way. Road signs are in Arabic and French. The speed limit on Tunisian highways is 110 km/h.

History

The first section connected Tunis to Turki (near Grombalia) in 1981. It was extended to Hammamet in 1986, to Enfidha in 1994, and to

Sfax Sfax ( ; , ) is a major port city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterranean port. Sfax has a ...

in 2008 and to Gabes in 2019.

Further construction

The extension to Gabes took a long time: progress slowed after the Tunisian revolution of 2011 and the

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the 27 member states. It is the largest multilateral financial institution in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt sol ...

provided with some financial support for extensions, starting in 2014. In January 2023, advancement of the remaining 182 km from

Gabès Gabès (, ; ), also spelled Cabès, Cabes, and Kabes, is the capital of the Gabès Governorate in Tunisia. Situated on the coast of the Gulf of Gabès, the city has a population of 167,863, making it the 6th largest city in Tunisia. Located 327 ...

to Medenine,

Ben Gardane Ben Gardane or Bengardane ( or , '; ) is a coastal town in south eastern Tunisia, close to the border with Libya. It is located at around . History During the Second World War Ben Gardane Airfield was used by the 57th Fighter Group, which flew P ...

, and to Ras Jedir on the

Libyan Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. All figures are from the United Nations Demographic Yearbooks ...

border was estimated to be 90% completed at cost of 550 million dinars, with already 5 interchanges, 4 toll stations, 4 restop areas, and 107 hydraulic structures already built on the Gabes-Medenine section. Opening is planned for the end of May 2023.

Distances, rest areas, and exits

The planned route from Tunis to the Libyan frontier is 573 km: * Tunis-Hammamet (51 km) * Hammamet-M'saken (92 km) with an exit at

Sousse Sousse, Sūsah , or Soussa (, ), is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which ...

* M'saken-Sfax (97 km) with an exit at

Mahdia Mahdia ( ') is a Tunisian coastal city with 76,513 inhabitants, south of Monastir, Tunisia, Monastir and southeast of Sousse. Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax. It is important for the associated fish-processing industry, as well as w ...

* Sfax-Gabès (151 km, under development) * Gabès-Libyan border (182 km, planned for 2018) There are service areas at Grombalia, Sidi Khelifa, Borjine, and El Jem. Exits and interchanges are, in order: the interchange between A1 and Olympic City November 7th, Hammam Lif, Mornag, Grombalia, Turki, Hammamet-Nord, Golf Hammamet, Hammamet, Hammamet-Sud, Bouficha, Enfidha, Enfidha–Hammamet International Airport, Hergla,

Sidi Bou Ali Sidi Bou Ali is a town and commune in the Sousse Governorate, Tunisia. As of 2004 it had a population of 9,011. Ancient history During the Roman occupation of present-day Tunisia, Sidi Bou Ali was known as Ulissipira. The only remnant of the t ...

, Kalâa Kebira,

city center,

M'saken M'saken ( ''Msākan''; also spelled ''Masakin'', ''Msaken'') is a town in north-eastern Tunisia, close to Sousse. Etymology The origin of the word comes from "Msaken" masken (plural masken) meaning "habitat", "house" or "dwelling". This ref ...

, Jemmel, Kerker, El Jem, El Hencha, and Sfax-Nord

References

Gallery

File:Tunisian highway Grombalia.jpg, Exit to Turki/Grombalia File:Tunisie Autoroute A1 sortie Boumerdas.jpg, Exit to Bou Merdes File:Tunisie Autoroute A1 aire de service Grombalia.jpg, Rest area at Grombalia File:Autoroute1.jpg, A1 toll in Mornag at sunset File:Tunisie Autoroute A1 Extension 1.jpg, File:Tunisie Autoroute A1 sortie Aéroport.jpg, Exit to the Enfidha–Hammamet International Airport File:Tunisie Autoroute A1 sortie Hammamet.jpg, Exit to Hammamet File:Tunisie Autoroute A1 sortie Hergla.jpg, Exit to Hergla

External links

* Wikivoyage:Tunisia discusses travel on Tunisian highways {{DEFAULTSORT:A001 motorway Motorways in Tunisia