C-31 or Eix Costaner is one of

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

's primary

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

s. It is the result of merging several sections of previously existing

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s, '' autopistas'' and '' autovías'' after the 2004's renaming of primary highways managed by the

Generalitat de Catalunya The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is self-governed as an autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parliament of Catalonia, the President of the Govern ...

. According to this new denomination, the first number (C-31) indicates that is a southwest-northeast highway (parallel to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

coastline), while the second number (C-31) indicates that is the closest to the Mediterranean Sea.

Southern section (El Vendrell-South Barcelona)

The C-31's southern section has two clearly distinguished subsections: The first corresponds to the former C-246 road, also known as Costes del Garraf. It starts at the intersection with the N-340 at

El Vendrell El Vendrell () is a town located in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, in the wine-growing region of Penedès. It is wedged between the Mediterranean and the coastal range. El Vendrell is the capital of the Baix Penedès ''comarca'' and a t ...

and runs parallel to the

coastline A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

passing through several coastal towns such as Calafell,

Cubelles Cubelles () is a municipality in Catalonia, in the province of Barcelona, Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, ...

( Charlie Rivel's birth town), Vilanova i la Geltrú and

Sitges ; , ) is a town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain, renowned worldwide for Sitges Film Festival, its film festival, Carnival, and LGBTQ culture. Located between the Garraf Massif and the Mediterranean Sea, it is know ...

, and across the Garraf Massif coast it finishes at Castelldefels. The second subsection corresponds to the former C-246 ''autovía'', also known as Autovia de Castelldefels. It connects Castelldefels with

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

's Gran Via and Plaça d'Espanya passing close to major cities such as El Prat de Llobregat and

L'Hospitalet de Llobregat L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (; ), often shortened to L'Hospitalet or just L'H, is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Barcelonès Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'', in Catalonia (Spain). It is part of the Barcelona metropolitan area, ...

and to the

Barcelona International Airport Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a pop ...

North Barcelona section (North Barcelona-Montgat)

This C-31's section corresponds to a part of the former A-19 ''autopista'', also known as Autopista del Maresme, which was the first ''autopista'' ever in Spain (1969). It starts at Barcelona's Plaça de les Glòries and runs parallel to the coastline passing through the city of

Badalona Badalona (, , , ) is a municipality in Barcelonès county, in Catalonia (Spain). It is located to the north east of Barcelona, on the left bank of the Besòs River and on the Mediterranean Sea, in the Barcelona metropolitan area. By population, ...

and finishing at the intersection with the B-20 and the C-32, at

Montgat Montgat () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Maresme in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the coast between Badalona (Barcelonès) and El Masnou, to the north-east of Barcelona. The town is both a tourist centre and a (somewhat ex ...

. This highway section should continue over the actual N-II, at the ''comarca'' of Maresme, but since this road is managed by the Spanish government, it has not been renamed yet.

Costa Brava's section (Santa Cristina d'Aro-Figueres)

This section corresponds to the former C-253 and C-252 roads. It starts at the end of the Autovia C-65, at Santa Cristina d'Aro and runs parallel to the coastal line (''

Costa Brava The Costa Brava (; ; "Wild Coast" or "Rough Coast") is a coastal region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. Sources differ on the exact definition of the Costa Brava. Usually it can be regarded as stretching from the town of Blanes, northeas ...

'') passing or by-passing the towns of Castell-Platja d'Aro,

Palamós Palamós () is a town and municipality in the Mediterranean Costa Brava, located in the ''comarca'' of Baix Empordà, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Palamós is located at the northern end of a large bay. The town is by-passed by th ...

, Palafrugell, Pals, Torroella de Montgrí, Verges and Viladamat before ending at

Figueres Figueres (; ) is the capital city of Alt Empordà county, in the Girona region, Catalonia, Spain. The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Dalí Theatre and Museum, a large museum designed by Dalí himself which att ...

References

External links

New codification for primary highways managed by the Generalitat de Catalunya
(in Catalan)
New codification for primary highways managed by the Generalitat de Catalunya
(in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:C-31 Highway (Spain) Motorways in Catalonia

Southern section (El Vendrell-South Barcelona)

North Barcelona section (North Barcelona-Montgat)

Costa Brava's section (Santa Cristina d'Aro-Figueres)

See also

References

External links