32 years after the first project by the architect Pier Luigi Spadolini, the troubled history of the Variant di Valico, the doubling of Apennine section of the A1 Milan-Naples motorway, between Sasso Marconi and Barberino del Mugello. The inauguration is scheduled for this morning at 11, in the presence of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi who, shortly before arriving on site, sent the tweet shown below. The southern carriageway towards Florence will therefore be opened to traffic in the late morning, while in the opposite direction the opening is scheduled for late afternoon today.
Great emotion: the pass variant is finally inaugurated. No one believed it anymore, but #italiastarts again
- Matteo Renzi (@matteorenzi) December 23 2015
The works lasted 11 years and the costs have risen over time, reaching about 7 billiondouble what was budgeted. Furthermore, the controversies raised by the inhabitants of Ripoli, a hamlet of San Benedetto Val di Sambro, over the cracks and damage that appeared in the buildings after the start of the works are still alive.
The track, long just over 60 km, crosses two regions (for 43,181 km eachEmilia Romagna and for 14,993 km there Toscana) and includes 45 major works, including 23 viaducts and 22 tunnels, covering a total of 10,4 and 29,273 km respectively. Plus two new junctions.
“Today has come the day that seemed to never come – commented Renzi -, which sends the professionals of 'you'll never make it', of whining and lamentation, into the attic, it is the day that seemed so far away the year last".
The road section is built with a minimum of three lanes in each direction with the typical dimensions – 3,50 m for the fast overtaking lane, 3,75 m for the overtaking and normal traffic lanes and 3,00 for the rest stop emergency – and a traffic divider of at least 4,00 meters. The sections in the tunnel are characterized by two lanes and an emergency lane, all 3,75 m long. The slopes remain around 2% and the maximum altitude has been lowered to 490 meters above sea level from the 716 meters of the current route.
“Today is a happy day – said the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Riccardo Nencini – because we are cutting one of the two major Italian infrastructure nodes: the other is the Salerno-Reggio Calabria. The pass variant connects the north better with the central south, it's a beautiful work and we respect the commitment made exactly one year ago”.
They were needed to make the work 5 main construction sites (Poggiolino, Bollone, Acquatesa, Puliana and Molino di Frassineta), a quarry (Sasso di Castro) and 2 definitive deposits (Acquatesa, Fienile) as well as 11 service itineraries, partly built from scratch and partly coinciding with the already existing road network .
In the morning, due to the work, they trained 12 kilometers queue between Rioveggio and Barberino di Mugello, towards Florence. But at 8 am, according to the Autostrade per l'Italia website, “the construction site was removed”, and traffic started flowing again “on all the available lanes and the queue is moving. Alternatively we recommend for long distances to exit at Sasso Marconi, use the SS30 Porrettana towards Pistoia and return to the A64 Firenze-Pisa north in the direction of Florence from where you can take the A11 again. Or take the A1 Parma-La Spezia in the direction of La Spezia, then the A15 Genova-Rosignano Marittimo towards Pisa then the A12 towards Florence from where you can return to the A11. For short distances and for light vehicles only, we recommend exiting at Roncobilaccio, following the Futa Pass and returning to the motorway at Barberino”. Subsequently, the site reported a 1 km queue between Sasso Marconi and Pian del voglio due to congested traffic.
“See what traffic? It's Christmas – said the CEO of Autostrade, Giovanni Castellucci -, if we promised to open before Christmas there's a good reason: the 23rd is a busy day and the sooner we open, the sooner we provide a great service. The works for the pass variant lasted nine years, nothing to envy to the construction times that are used abroad, even in Switzerland, for similar works: the times were congruous”.
