The Route nationale 22 (RN22)
is a highway in southern France, connecting
l'Hospitalet-près-l'Andorre
L'Hospitalet-près-l'Andorre (, literally ''L'Hospitalet near the Andorra''; ) is a commune in the Ariège department of southwestern France.
The area has a history of vulnerability to winter avalanches: one such in 1895 killed 12 (nearly ...
to
Pas de la Casa
El Pas de la Casa (; ) is a ski resort (part of the Grandvalira resort), town, and mountain pass in the Encamp parish of Andorra, lying on the border with France.
Overview
Its name literally translates as "the pass of the house" and refers to t ...
in the Principality of
Andorra
Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...
. On the French side of the border at Pas de la Casa, the RN22 also connects to the
Envalira Tunnel (Catalan: Túnel d'Envalira), which is an alternative route into Andorra avoiding the
Envalira Pass (Catalan: Port d'Envalira).
The road is a branch of the
N20, and runs parallel to the RN320 which crosses ''Col de Puymorens''. The roads follow the same route for a few kilometers.
This road has only been called the RN22 since 1975 when there was a general downgrading of the road network, before which it was called the NR20b. Formerly, RN22 was a section of the current trunk road
N11 between Mauzé-sur-le-Mignon with the La Rochelle and a section in La Rochelle to the Port de la Pallice and the landing stage of the ferry to the
L'île de Ré.
In winter, avalanches sometimes close the continuation of the road below ''Col de Puymorens'' — the
N20.
[L'Hospitalet. La RN 20 coupée à cause d'une avalanche, ''La Depeche'', 17 Dec 2008]
References
Routes nationales in France, 022
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