N.Y. Times: Corruption Is Seen as a Drain on Italy's South (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/08/world/europe/in-italy-calabria-is-drained-by-corruption.html)
QuoteItaly's A3 highway, begun in the 1960s and still not finished, starts outside Naples in the ancient hill town of Salerno and ends, rather unceremoniously, 300 miles farther south as a local street in downtown Reggio Calabria.
QuoteAlong the way, it frequently narrows to two lanes, with an obstacle course of construction sites that have lingered for decades. Perilous, two-lane bridges span mountain ravines high above the sea, while unlit tunnels leak in the rain – and occasionally drop concrete and other building materials onto passing cars.
QuoteNothing embodies the failures of the Italian state more neatly than the highway from Salerno to Reggio Calabria. Critics see it as the rotten fruit of a jobs-for-votes culture that, nurtured by the organized crime that is endemic in southern Italy, has systematically defrauded the state while failing its citizens, leaving Calabria geographically and economically isolated.
The Autostrada A3 was finished in 1972. It runs through some of the most difficult terrain in Europe, at the time it had the highest viaduct in Europe. The road was constructed with obsolete design standards, it is curvy, lacks shoulders and decent merging lengths at interchanges.
Construction began in 1997 to modernize the road, which meant adding shoulders, realigning curvy sections and construct new tunnels and giant viaducts. It is the biggest highway modernization project ever undertaken in Europe, it stretches for nearly 400 kilometers (250 mi) from Salerno to Reggio Calabria. The words "modernization" or "rehabilitation" do not cover the scope of this project. In many areas it was a complete new autostrada.
However, as usual in southern Italy, the mafia became involved and construction slowed to a crawl. Deadlines were moved ahead numerous times. This is the "two lane" era, although it was not a two-lane road since the 1960s, and certainly not across all 400 kilometers, as the article appear to suggest, just during the long-term road works. Traffic volumes in this remote area are not very high, and two lanes are more of an annoyance than a huge traffic jam (except some peak days during the summer).
Construction sped up considerably in recent years and many parts have now been finished. The modernization of the A3 will have cost a staggering 10.5 billion euros.
Some of the taller viaducts along A3:
Viadotto SfalassÃ
250 meters tall
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fhighestbridges.com%2Fwiki%2Fimages%2F3%2F3a%2F38SfalassaBridge.jpg&hash=5263c3f79521663b89777d33560230167cacb879)
http://highestbridges.com/wiki/index.php?title=Sfalassa_Bridge (http://highestbridges.com/wiki/index.php?title=Sfalassa_Bridge)
Viadotto Italia
259 meters tall, the highest viaduct in Europe prior to 2004.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fhighestbridges.com%2Fwiki%2Fimages%2F5%2F54%2F1ViadottoItalia.jpg&hash=17e6b3e7e4bd9dd56093dc76f2796e24432c0553)
http://highestbridges.com/wiki/index.php?title=Italia_Viaduct (http://highestbridges.com/wiki/index.php?title=Italia_Viaduct)
Viadotto Rago
147 meters tall
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fhighestbridges.com%2Fwiki%2Fimages%2Fthumb%2Fc%2Fc9%2F1RagoBridge.jpg%2F750px-1RagoBridge.jpg&hash=741a63bcc7e7b8e22c20fb6de0f69101dc9dfaa7)
http://highestbridges.com/wiki/index.php?title=Rago_Viaduct (http://highestbridges.com/wiki/index.php?title=Rago_Viaduct)
Viadotto Serra
122 meters tall
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fhighestbridges.com%2Fwiki%2Fimages%2Fthumb%2F5%2F5f%2F1SerraViadotto.jpg%2F750px-1SerraViadotto.jpg&hash=0aae7f490a9311caf8141c30529d0d36ea1be4f3)
http://highestbridges.com/wiki/index.php?title=Serra_Bridge (http://highestbridges.com/wiki/index.php?title=Serra_Bridge)
Quote from: Chris on October 10, 2012, 10:40:17 AM
The Autostrada A3 was finished in 1972. It runs through some of the most difficult terrain in Europe, at the time it had the highest viaduct in Europe. The road was constructed with obsolete design standards, it is curvy, lacks shoulders and decent merging lengths at interchanges.
Is A3 a toll road (like many other other Autostrada routes in Italy)?
Quote from: Chris on October 10, 2012, 10:40:17 AM
Construction began in 1997 to modernize the road, which meant adding shoulders, realigning curvy sections and construct new tunnels and giant viaducts. It is the biggest highway modernization project ever undertaken in Europe, it stretches for nearly 400 kilometers (250 mi) from Salerno to Reggio Calabria. The words "modernization" or "rehabilitation" do not cover the scope of this project. In many areas it was a complete new autostrada.
There were a few images in the N.Y. Times article above, though I think the ones you just posted are more dramatic.
Quote from: Chris on October 10, 2012, 10:40:17 AM
However, as usual in southern Italy, the mafia became involved and construction slowed to a crawl. Deadlines were moved ahead numerous times. This is the "two lane" era, although it was not a two-lane road since the 1960s, and certainly not across all 400 kilometers, as the article appear to suggest, just during the long-term road works. Traffic volumes in this remote area are not very high, and two lanes are more of an annoyance than a huge traffic jam (except some peak days during the summer).
I wonder what the Italian government and the EU can do to keep the Mafia out of public works projects. I don't know about Italy, but in parts of the U.S., the Mafia is also involved in labor union corruption, which further drives up costs.
Yes, the article suggested that segments of it were "Super-2" (as a two-lane undivided road, otherwise built to motorway standards, is called in the U.S.).
Quote from: Chris on October 10, 2012, 10:40:17 AM
Construction sped up considerably in recent years and many parts have now been finished. The modernization of the A3 will have cost a staggering 10.5 billion euros.
That is a lot of money, though if it was spread over 400 kilometers, it
does not seem especially excessive.
I wish the progetti esecutivi for these jobs were available for download. To me personally this lack of availability is a more urgent consideration than 'Ndrangheta infiltration, but it is worth noting that in the US lack of free public availability of construction documentation over the Web is at least weakly correlated with Mafia involvement.
Quote from: cpzilliacus on October 10, 2012, 11:15:46 AM
Is A3 a toll road (like many other other Autostrada routes in Italy)?
No, it's toll-free, except for the section near Napoli / Pompeii.
QuoteThat is a lot of money, though if it was spread over 400 kilometers, it does not seem especially excessive.
True, but there was no significant new right-of-way acquired. Most of the € 10 billion was pure construction cost (plus God knows how many mafia payoffs). It's about € 25 million per kilometer, which is considerably higher than the average construction cost of non-urban motorways in Europe.
Quote from: Chris on October 11, 2012, 10:06:06 AM
Quote from: cpzilliacus on October 10, 2012, 11:15:46 AM
Is A3 a toll road (like many other other Autostrada routes in Italy)?
No, it's toll-free, except for the section near Napoli / Pompeii.
QuoteThat is a lot of money, though if it was spread over 400 kilometers, it does not seem especially excessive.
True, but there was no significant new right-of-way acquired. Most of the € 10 billion was pure construction cost (plus God knows how many mafia payoffs). It's about € 25 million per kilometer, which is considerably higher than the average construction cost of non-urban motorways in Europe.
Here in Maryland, we are spending U.S.$2.5 billion to build about 30 km of mostly six-lane toll road (mostly to Interstate standards, though the east end will be a signalized at-grade intersection).
You mean the ICC? That's a relatively suburban environment, isn't it? Italian A3 is mostly rural.
Quote from: cpzilliacus on October 11, 2012, 04:50:00 PM
Quote from: Chris on October 11, 2012, 10:06:06 AM
Quote from: cpzilliacus on October 10, 2012, 11:15:46 AM
Is A3 a toll road (like many other other Autostrada routes in Italy)?
No, it's toll-free, except for the section near Napoli / Pompeii.
QuoteThat is a lot of money, though if it was spread over 400 kilometers, it does not seem especially excessive.
True, but there was no significant new right-of-way acquired. Most of the € 10 billion was pure construction cost (plus God knows how many mafia payoffs). It's about € 25 million per kilometer, which is considerably higher than the average construction cost of non-urban motorways in Europe.
Here in Maryland, we are spending U.S.$2.5 billion to build about 30 km of mostly six-lane toll road (mostly to Interstate standards, though the east end will be a signalized at-grade intersection).
Last I checked, interstates are allowed to end at at-grades.
Quote from: deanej on October 12, 2012, 02:06:14 PM
Last I checked, interstates are allowed to end at at-grades.
do any interstates end at at-grade connections with another freeway?
here in California, some of our state routes do. 78 ends at 5 at-grade, and an alarming portion of 56's connections with 5 and 15 are at-grade.
Quote from: Chris on October 12, 2012, 06:25:32 AM
You mean the ICC? That's a relatively suburban environment, isn't it? Italian A3 is mostly rural.
Yes.
Parts of the route of the ICC is through areas that have suburban land use patterns, but
remarkably long segments are in areas that look
very rural, especially the western segment between I-370 and Md. 97 (Georgia Avenue). The two counties which Md. 200 connects are
very suburban in nature, but both have significant land preservation policies, and it so happens that Md. 200 runs through some of those "preserved" areas.
Because the land for the ICC had been set aside (in parts) as far back as the 1950's (and some as recently as the 1970's), there were few homes that had to be condemned to build the highway. The only significant condemnations of existing homes took place near the western end of the road, where federal environmental regulators insisted on re-routing the road through homes (and off of its long-planned route) in order to reduce impacts to several small waterways.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on October 12, 2012, 02:09:37 PM
Quote from: deanej on October 12, 2012, 02:06:14 PM
Last I checked, interstates are allowed to end at at-grades.
do any interstates end at at-grade connections with another freeway?
I-291 at I-90. Probably not allowed in the case of new construction.
I-99 at I-80, almost (there's another at-grade before)
I-180 at I-80 in Cheyenne :bigass:
Some border crossings with a single at-grade on the Canadian side (we discussed this in another thread)
There are many where the less-important movements have at-grades, usually by using a local street.
Quote from: NE2 on October 12, 2012, 04:52:12 PM
I-291 at I-90. Probably not allowed in the case of new construction.
to get from 291 to 90, one can take a cutoff lane which bypasses the light, correct? it is only from 90 to 291 which requires, after the tollbooths, making a left turn at a light.
I haven't been there in years, so I'm going off what the aerial imagery seems to indicate.
so, technically, 291
ends without a stop - until you get to the tollbooth, at least!
Quote from: agentsteel53 on October 12, 2012, 05:04:31 PM
so, technically, 291 ends without a stop - until you get to the tollbooth, at least!
Hey, you said "at-grade connections", which certainly describes a channelized right turn (as well as I-587 at I-87).
I-790 kinda sorta counts too. While there's a freeway connection from I-790 to I-90, the reverse isn't true.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on October 12, 2012, 02:09:37 PM
Quote from: deanej on October 12, 2012, 02:06:14 PM
Last I checked, interstates are allowed to end at at-grades.
do any interstates end at at-grade connections with another freeway?
here in California, some of our state routes do. 78 ends at 5 at-grade, and an alarming portion of 56's connections with 5 and 15 are at-grade.
Last I checked, that part of US 1 is in no way a freeway.
Quote from: Chris on October 11, 2012, 10:06:06 AM
Quote from: cpzilliacus on October 10, 2012, 11:15:46 AM
Is A3 a toll road (like many other other Autostrada routes in Italy)?
No, it's toll-free, except for the section near Napoli / Pompeii.
QuoteThat is a lot of money, though if it was spread over 400 kilometers, it does not seem especially excessive.
True, but there was no significant new right-of-way acquired. Most of the € 10 billion was pure construction cost (plus God knows how many mafia payoffs). It's about € 25 million per kilometer, which is considerably higher than the average construction cost of non-urban motorways in Europe.
One thing here on cost, though, is the mind-bogglingly rugged landscape that that highway passes through. Think: 'constant tunnels and viaduct bridging'. It would be like running an interstate north-south through the Sierras or the Cascades - or that 'I-3' pipedream in the Smokies.
Mike
Quote from: deanej on October 12, 2012, 10:58:49 PM
I-790 kinda sorta counts too. While there's a freeway connection from I-790 to I-90, the reverse isn't true.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on October 12, 2012, 02:09:37 PM
Quote from: deanej on October 12, 2012, 02:06:14 PM
Last I checked, interstates are allowed to end at at-grades.
do any interstates end at at-grade connections with another freeway?
here in California, some of our state routes do. 78 ends at 5 at-grade, and an alarming portion of 56's connections with 5 and 15 are at-grade.
Last I checked, that part of US 1 is in no way a freeway.
I think the question was an extension, rather than directly relating to the ICC. I'd throw I-585 into the mix here.
Three years later, The Independent reports, the prime minister says (to the disbelief of some) that the A3 is nearing completion.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/italys-eternally-unfinished-highway-enters-final-stretch--50-years-after-construction-began-10261986.html
Quote... This week, however, the Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, who's on something of a roll in his mission to modernise Italy, after pushing electoral reform through parliament, struck an upbeat note. "We will finish the Salerno-Reggio Calabria," he told Rai 1 television. "By the end of 2015 all the sites will begin a final speeding up of work and next year at the latest, it will be finished." Around 3,000 workers are said to be grafting night and day, seven days a week to speed its completion.
... And even if it's "finished" next year or the year after, it is likely that 43km of the autostrada will lack the emergency lane it is supposed to have.
It is not an 'unfinished highway'. It was completed in the 1970s from end to end. It also hasn't been under construction for the past 50 years.
They started large-scale reconstruction 18 years ago, and it will mostly be completed by 2017. That's 20 years of construction for a 450 kilometer stretch of freeway in difficult terrain. Some German Autobahn projects are shorter and slower than that (for example the A8 between Karlsruhe and Stuttgart, a 50 kilometer section which has been under near-constant widening construction for the past 20 years and still is at least 5 years from completion).
The A3 is one of the few long-distance motorways with no tolls in Italy. Italian fuel taxes are among the highest in Europe, but they don't have to finance most of the motorways, because they are tolled. So they can spend a lot of money on the few tax-funded motorways like A3.