Autostrada A34 (Italy)

The Autostrada A34 is an Italian motorway that branches off of the A4 motorway at the Villesse junction going towards Gorizia. The motorway ends after 17 kilometers in Sant'Andrea / Vertoiba, where it continues as the H4 expressway in Slovenia. The highway is managed by Autovie Venete.[1]

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Autostrada A34
Villesse – Gorizia
Route information
Maintained by Autovie Venete
Length17 km (11 mi)
Existed2013–present
Major junctions
FromVillesse
ToGorizia
Location
CountryItaly
Highway system

Previously, before the redevelopment, the highway was classified as a junction (RA 17), but was granted the new classification as A34 by the Ministry of Transport.[2]

The entire highway requires the use of winter equipment from 15 November to 15 April.[3]

History edit

 
The exit for Gradisca d'Isonzo towards Gorizia after the redevelopment.

The original junction was opened in the late 1970s.[4] Since the end of 2005,[5] the road has been managed by Autovie Venete.[6]

Redevelopment edit

The original RA 17 junction was classified as a secondary extra-urban road, defined by Italian regulations as being a single highway road with at least one lane in each direction. The road was later upgraded to meet highway regulations,[7] starting on 12 December 2009. The redevelopment was estimated to cost €172,000,000[nb 1][8] and was done by a temporary association of companies: I.CO.P. SpA of Paolo Petrucco, Friulana Bitumi, SIOSS, Valle Costruzioni, and Tomat. To bring up to highway regulations, the junction had to be widened from 14 meters (45.93 ft.) to 25 meters (82.02 ft.), adding two more lanes of travel plus an emergency lane. Two artificial tunnels were built, along with a railway underpass, bridges, and viaducts. With Order 97/13, Autovie Venete opened the junction as a highway on 15 October 2013.[9]

Features edit

Original road edit

 
The junction towards the A4 before the redevelopment

Since the road was not originally classified as a highway and instead as a secondary extra-urban road,[10] the road was toll free. It had four lanes, two in each direction without an emergency lane.

The two sides were first separated simply by a double solid line, but in 2007 a Jersey barrier made of concrete was added in its place.

The RA 17 junction did not appear on any road signs. In fact, on signs located on overpasses, the junction was referred to as "a Villesse-Gorizia connection".

From 2013 edit

The work on the road was done to bring it up to regulations defined by Ministerial Decree 6792 of 2001 for Type A roads, which were motorways outside of the city. This allowed to increase the maximum speed on the road to 130 km/h (approximately 80 mph) from the original 80 km/h (approximately 50 mph).[2]

Route table edit

 
Signs on A4 indicating connection to A34
  Villesse – Gorizia
Type Exit km Province
      Turin – Trieste 0
  Villesse barrier – Gorizia 0.6
  Villesse 1.7
  Gradisca d'Isonzo 6.2
  Farra d'Isonzo

(only entrance towards Villesse)

11.1
  Car park

(only exit towards Gorizia)

15.5
  Gorizia 16.9
  Country Border   Slovenia

  New Gorizia – Prevallo

17.0

References edit

  1. ^ "AISCAT Mensile 03/2018" (PDF). Associazione Italiana Società Concessionarie Autostrade e Trafori. March 2018. p. 8.
  2. ^ a b "Ord-97_13" (PDF).
  3. ^ "Autovie Venete". Autovie Venete (in Italian). Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Pedaggio virtuale dell'A34, autotrasportatori in rivolta". Il Piccolo (in Italian). 17 October 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  5. ^ "Adeguamento raccordo Villesse – Gorizia". Archived from the original on 16 March 2009.
  6. ^ "BuildUp – Il portale per le costruzioni – News – Tecnologie stradali". buildup.it. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Adeguamento raccordo Villesse-Gorizia". 16 March 2009. Archived from the original on 16 March 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Piccolo ed. GO (II) N° 81007 – 07/10/2008 – 4" (PDF).
  9. ^ "ANSA su Autovie Venete". Archived from the original on 17 January 2014.
  10. ^ "Friuli-Venezia Giulia: il 'miracolo' della Villesse-Gorizia". lestradedellinformazione.it. Retrieved 1 May 2019.

Notes edit

  1. ^ This would calculate to approximately €196,024,551.51 in 2019 after inflation.

External links edit