Between Abruzzo and lazio, A new Picente highway after the earthquake

A new project of fundamental importance to connection the whole area of Central Italy and, in particular, the areas recently hit by the earthquakes.

The executive project has been delivered within the deadline specified by Anas and is being approved. The work, worth a a total of 61 million euros, concerns a 6.4 km stretch of the State Road SS 260 “Picente” between the municipalities of Montereale and Capitignano, in the province of L’Aquila. The State Road, which connects the capital of Abruzzo to the Adriatic Sea, bypassing the Gran Sasso massif, crosses the epicentres of the most devastating earthquakes of recent years and is in need of a re-modernization, to bring it up to the standards required for the streets of category C2.

Toto, who was in charge of the works, presented a project to upgrade the road to a total of 9.5 metres, with two 3.5-metre lanes, one for each direction of travel, and 1.25-metre quays on the sides. A 1148 metre-long tunnel, to be built near the town of Marana, is worth mentioning as a variant, with an emergency tunnel of about 4 metres in diameter, to be excavated with the aid of a TBM. Four new bridges and a viaduct, for a total of 300 metres, will be installed with prefabricated reinforced concrete beams, and will be adapted to the latest seismic standards. A new layer of draining asphalt, new roundabouts and connections with the main towns will complete a long-awaited project, which will be finished within 36 months, expected by the end of the year.