Autostrada A24 (Italy)

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The Autostrada A24, or Strada dei Parchi ("Parks motorway") is an autostrada (Italian for "motorway") long in Italy located in the regions of Lazio and Abruzzo connecting Rome to Teramo, near the Adriatic Sea. Starting from the Grande Raccordo Anulare (GRA – the Rome orbital motorway), the A24 runs broadly north-east across the Abruzzese Apennine Mountains. Between L'Aquila and Teramo it passes through the Gran Sasso Tunnel. The private company Strada dei Parchi S.p.A. currently manages the motorway. The name "Parks Motorway" comes from the fact that the Maiella National Park, the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park and the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park can be reached from this motorway. It is a part of the E80 European route.

Near the Lazio and Abruzzo border the Autostrada A25 splits from the A24 and reaches the Adriatic Coast at Pescara.

It is constructed in an almost completely hilly and mountainous territory with a complex orography. For this reason, the motorway required the adoption of daring civil engineering solutions, with extensive stretches utilising viaducts and 42 tunnels (four of which are longer than ) including the Gran Sasso Tunnel, whose length ( for the northern tunnel, the southern) made it the longest double-tube road tunnel in Europe, as well as the longest road tunnel in Italy entirely in the national territory.

First planned in 1973 to connect Lazio and Abruzzo as well as the Autostrada A1 and the Autostrada A14, the motorway ends at Teramo, about 17 kilometres (10 mi) far from the Autostrada A14, This gap is covered by a freeway since the early 2000's.

The highway includes three long tunnels under the highest Appennine mountain, the Gran Sasso massif, on a south west/north east axis, with each tunnel just over 6.3 miles in length. Two of the tunnels are part of the Traforo del Gran Sasso, while the third tunnel, dug adjacent the two highway tunnels, hosts the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (National Laboratories of the Gran Sasso), the largest underground particle physics laboratory in the world.

Together with the A25, it provides a fast and reliable connection between the capital and the central-eastern regions of the peninsula; previously, the natural subdivision imposed by the highest peaks of the Apennines had made travel between the two seas difficult, slow and treacherous. The A24 reduced the isolation of Abruzzo from the Tyrrhenian regions, and together with the A25 became the main link between the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic in central Italy. Until its completion, communications took place mainly via the winding State roads Salaria, Flaminia and Tiburtina Valeria.

A24, a film company based in the United States, is named after the Autostrada A24. Daniel Katz, the founder of the company, chose this name because he decided to create the company while driving on the A24.

Route

File:Autostrada A24 Rom 03(RaBoe).jpg

Autostrada A24 near Rome

File:Autostrada A24 Rom 04(RaBoe).jpg

Autostrada A24 between Borgorose and Tagliacozzo

File:A24-Aquila.jpg

Autostrada A24 near L'Aquila

File:Sortie Tivoli A24.JPG

Autostrada A24 near Tivoli

Template:Symbol ROMA - TERAMO Strada dei Parchi
Exit	↓km↓	↑km↑	Province	European Road
File:AB-Kreuz-grün.svg Template:Symbol Grande Raccordo Anulare			RM
File:AB-AS-grün.svg Settecamini Template:Symbol Via Tiburtina			RM
File:AB-AS-grün.svg Lunghezza			RM
Template:Symbol Toll gate Roma Est			RM
Template:Symbol Rest area "Colle del Tasso"			RM
File:AB-Kreuz-grün.svg Template:Symbol File:Autostrada A1 Italia.svg Milano - Napoli			RM
File:AB-AS-grün.svg Tivoli Template:Symbol Via Tiburtina			RM
File:AB-AS-grün.svg Castel Madama			RM
File:AB-AS-grün.svg Vicovaro - Mandela			RM
Template:Symbol Rest area "Civita"			AQ
File:AB-AS-grün.svg Carsoli - Oricola			AQ
File:AB-AS-grün.svg Tagliacozzo			AQ
File:AB-Kreuz-grün.svg Template:Symbol File:Autostrada A25 Italia.svg Pescara - Chieti Template:Symbol Maiella National Park Template:Symbol Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park			RI
File:AB-AS-grün.svg Valle del Salto Template:Symbol Salto Cicolana - Rieti			RI
File:AB-AS-grün.svg Tornimparte Template:Symbol del Parco Regionale Sirente-Velino Template:Symbol Campo Felice			AQ
Template:Symbol Rest area "Valle Aterno"			AQ
File:AB-AS-grün.svg L'Aquila Ovest Template:Symbol del Gran Sasso d'Italia - Teramo Template:Symbol dell'Appennino Abruzzese ed Appulo-Sannitico - Antrodoco			AQ
File:AB-AS-grün.svg L'Aquila Est Template:Symbol Template:Symbol Tangenziale Est dell'Aquila - Pescara			AQ
File:AB-AS-grün.svg Assergi Template:Symbol Campo Imperatore Template:Symbol Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park			AQ
File:Italian traffic signs - galleria.svg Traforo del Gran Sasso			AQ/TE
File:AB-AS-grün.svg Colledara - San Gabriele Template:Symbol St. Gabriel's shrine Template:Symbol Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia - Castelli Template:Symbol Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park			TE
Template:Symbol Toll gate Teramo			TE
File:AB-AS-grün.svg Basciano - Villa Vomano ex Template:Symbol di Bisenti - Bisenti Template:Symbol Piceno-Aprutina - Teramo Template:Symbol Piceno-Aprutina - Chieti			TE
File:AB-AS-grün.svg Val Vomano Template:Symbol della Valle del Vomano - Roseto degli Abruzzi			TE
File:AB-AS-grün.svg Teramo Template:Symbol File:Autostrada A14 Italia.svg Bologna - Taranto			TE

See also

• Autostrade of Italy
• Roads in Italy
• Transport in Italy
• A24

Other Italian roads

• State highways (Italy)
• Regional road (Italy)
• Provincial road (Italy)
• Municipal road (Italy)

External links

• Strada dei Parchi S.p.A. (in Italian)