The Libyan Coastal Highway (), formerly the Litoranea Balbo, is a highway that is the only major road that runs along the entire east-west length of the

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Mediterranean 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 ...

coastline. It is a section in the Cairo–Dakar Highway #1 in the Trans-African Highway system of the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

Arab Maghreb Union The Arab Maghreb Union ( '; AMU/UMA) is a political union and economic union trade agreement aiming for economic and future political unity among Arab countries that are located primarily in the Maghreb in North Africa. Its members are the natio ...

and others. Built under the rule of the Italian dictator

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

in colonial

Italian Libya Libya (; ) was a colony of Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Italian Cyrenaica, Cyrenaica and Italian Tripolitan ...

in the 1930s, it was named ''Via Balbia (or '' Litoranea Balbo'') in honour of governor-general

Italo Balbo Italo Balbo (6 June 1896 – 28 June 1940) was an Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italian fascist politician and Blackshirts' leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force, Governor-General of Italian Libya and Commander-in-Chief of Italian ...

, but renamed to "Libyan Coastal Highway" after independence and enlarged. In the

First Libyan Civil War The Libyan civil war, also known as the First Libyan Civil War and Libyan Revolution, was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were ...

of 2011, the highway was a strategic and symbolic element, as the main route through the contested coastal region between

Sirte Sirte (; , ), also spelled Sirt, Surt, Sert or Syrte, is a city in Libya. It is located south of the Gulf of Sirte, almost right in the middle between Tripoli and Benghazi. It is famously known for its battles, ethnic groups and loyal ...

and

Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...

History

Italian Libya

In March 1937, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini made a state visit to Italian Libya to open this new military and civilian highway, built by governor-general

. When Balbo died in 1940 in a plane crash, the Italian government named the 1822 kilometer road Via Balbia in his honour. It was used to improve the economy and viability of the Italian colony of Libya. The Italians also constructed a minor long road parallel to the coastal road, starting from Marj through Marawa, to Lamluda. The road was built from the

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

n border to the Egyptian border and was extended in 1940 by the

Via della Vittoria The Via della Vittoria was a military road between Bardia in Italian Libya and Sidi Barrani in western Egypt. Characteristics The "Via della Vittoria" (Victory Road), was built by Italian engineers during World War II, between September and D ...

inside western Egypt. According to historian Baldinetti, the construction was done to give work to more than 10,000 Libyan Arabs. Near the middle of the road, the border of

Italian Tripolitania Italian Tripolitania was an Italian colony, located in present-day western Libya, that existed from 1911 to 1934. It was part of the territory conquered from the Ottoman Empire after the Italo-Turkish War in 1911. Italian Tripolitania included th ...

and

Italian Cyrenaica Italian Cyrenaica (; ) was an Italian colony, located in present-day eastern Libya, that existed from 1911 to 1934. It was part of the territory conquered from the Ottoman Empire during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911, alongside Italian Tripolitan ...

was marked by a

Marble Arch The Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble-faced triumphal arch in London, England. The structure was designed by John Nash in 1827 as the state entrance to the cour d'honneur of Buckingham Palace; it stood near the site of what is today th ...

, named ''Arch of Fileni''. It was created by the Italian architect

Florestano Di Fausto Florestano Di Fausto (16 July 1890 – 11 January 1965) was an Italian architect, engineer and politician who is best known for his building designs in the Italian overseas territories around the Mediterranean. He is considered the most importa ...

. There was an inscription at the top of the arch which read: ''Alme Sol, possis nihil urbe Roma visere maius'' (Latin for "Oh kind Sun, may you never look upon a city greater than Rome"). The "Arch of Fileni" was demolished in 1970 by the new coup d'état revolutionary regime of

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...

A railway was planned for the central section of the Litoranea Balbo parallel to the road, to connect Tripoli and

but little had been built before the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

stopped construction.

World War II

The highway was fully paved. However, in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, during the

Western Desert Campaign The Western Desert campaign (Desert War) took place in the Sahara Desert, deserts of Egypt and Libya and was the main Theater (warfare), theatre in the North African campaign of the Second World War. Military operations began in June 1940 with ...

of the Allies

North African Campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

, the road was heavily used in fighting the Axis forces, and remained damaged for decades. After the war the "Litoranea Balbo" was partially destroyed but in the 1960s it was improved and enlarged to four lanes in many sections with a new name, the Libyan Coastal Highway.

Independent Libya

The road was renamed Libyan Coastal Highway after the country gained independence and was improved with enlargements. It was fully repaved in 1967. According to

Hussein Maziq Hussein Yousef Maziq (; 26 June 1918 – 12 May 2006) was a Libyan politician who was Prime Minister of Libya from 20 March 1965 to 2 July 1967. He was one of the most important men in the Kingdom era of Libya. Family background Maziq was a ...

, prime minister of

(1965–1967) under King Idris, there had been plans to make this road a dual carriageway road.A meeting between Maher A. A. Abdussalam & Mr. Maziq. Two parts were built: the

Sabratha Sabratha (; also ''Sabratah'', ''Siburata''), in the Zawiya DistrictTripoli—

Misrata Misrata ( ; , Libyan Arabic: ; also spelled Misratah and known by the Italian spelling Misurata) is a city in northwestern Libya located in the Misrata District, situated to the east of Tripoli on the Mediterranean coast near Cape Misrata. ...

section; and the

Ajdabiya Ajdabiya ( ; ) is a town in and capital of the Al Wahat District in northeastern Libya. It is some south of Benghazi. From 2001 to 2007 it was part of and capital of the Ajdabiya District. The town is divided into three Basic People's Congres ...

—

— Taucheira section. The entire construction did not occur because of the coup d'état political change by Muammar Gaddafi on 1 September 1969. The "Arch of Fileni" was demolished in 1973 by the new revolutionary regime of dictator

. Before the 2011 Libyan civil war, the General People's Committee of Libya had issued an order for the Ras Ajdir—

Sabratha Sabratha (; also ''Sabratah'', ''Siburata''), in the Zawiya DistrictTolmeita Tolmeita, Tolmeta or Tolmeitha is a village in the northern Cyrenaica region of eastern Libya, some east of Benghazi, near Ad Dirsiyah. Its name is derived from Greek Πτολεμαΐς (''Ptolemais''), the name of the classical city of Ptolemai ...

- Tauchira road, and Derna-

Susa Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...

road.

First Libyan Civil War

In the

of 2011 the highway was an active component for combat movement and skirmishes, and when a section's access and transit is under control - a strategic and symbolic element.

Junctions

The highway has become a junction for new southbound roads into the

Fezzan Fezzan ( , ; ; ; ) is the southwestern region of modern Libya. It is largely desert, but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys (wadis) in the north, where oases enable ancient towns and villages to survive deep in the otherwise in ...

region and

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

, and new east-west shortcut highways in

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika (, , after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between the 16th and 25th meridians east, including the Kufra District. The coastal region, als ...

and

Tripolitania Tripolitania (), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province of Libya. The region had been settled since antiquity, first coming to prominence as part of the Carthaginian empire. Following the defeat ...

. They include: * Ajdabiya–Kufra Road * Charruba–Timimi Road *

Fezzan Road Fezzan Road is an asphalt road in central Libya, running from Abu Qurayn near the coast to Sabha in the Sahara Desert. It is long. History Fezzan Road was constructed in the early 1960s. It was the largest road project in Libya since the Ital ...

* Tobruk–Ajdabiya Road * Tripoli – Cape Town Highway *

Notes

References

* El Hadi Mustapha Bulegma, & Saad Khalil Kezeiri (ed.), " Al Jamahiriya: Dirasa fil Jughrafia", Ad Dar al Jamahiriya lil nashr wa tawzee wa e'lan, Surt,

, 1995. * G. Pini, ''La rete stradale dell’Impero'' in “Africa Italiana”, dicembre 1939, n. 12 (in Italian) * *

External links

La Litoranea Libica (in Italian)

Where there was nothing but wood, we left asphalt and marble (in Italian)
{{Italian Libya Roads in Libya Cyrenaica Tripolitania Italian Libya