A8 autoroute
The A8 autoroute, also known as La Provençale, is a 224-kilometer (139 mi)-long highway in France that runs between Aix-en-Provence and the A7 to the Côte d'Azur.
Route
The A8 is an extension of the A7 starting to the west of Aix-en-Provence at La Fare-les-Oliviers. The road passes through the Departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Var and Alpes-Maritimes. It serves the towns of Aix-en-Provence, Fréjus, Saint-Raphaël, Mandelieu-la-Napoule, Cannes, Antibes, Nice, Monaco and Menton before crossing the border where it becomes the A10 in Italy. It crosses the mountain ranges of Sainte-Baume and of Maures between Aix-en-Provence and Fréjus and the Massif de l'Esterel between Saint-Raphaël and Cannes. Following the Grande Corniche the road offers panoramas of the sea between Nice and Menton.
Capacity
- 2x3 lanes from Coudoux (the junction with the A7 to La Barque (junction with the A52).
- 2x2 lanes from La Barque to Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume (being expanded to 2x3 lanes) increases to 2x3 lanes at Cagnes-sur-Mer.
- 2x4 lanes from Cagnes-sur-Mer to Saint-Laurent-du-Var (the road enters the Nice conurbation).
- 2x2 lanes in the section through the southern Alps from Nice Saint-Augustin to the frontier with Italy, this section has 15 tunnels. There is a speed limit of 90 km/h in the tunnels (70 km/h for large vehicles).
Traffic
The road has heavy traffic all year round and is especially congested in July and August (in particular around Antibes and Nice. As a result, traffic-management schemes have been adopted between Var to Nice-West similar to those on the Péripherique in Paris. The autoroute is regularly closed on the Nice-Menton section as a result of rock falls onto the carriageways. The sections crossing the Maures and L'Esterel mountains are at risk from forest fires in summer.
Interchanges
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28 : A7 autoroute, Coudoux -
Aires de repos: Ventabren -
29 18 km: Aix-en-Provence (ouest) - 28 : A51 autoroute
- 30 19 km: Aix-en-Provence (pont de l'Arc)
- 31 21 km: Aix-en-Provence (est)
- 32 27 km: N7 Châteauneuf-le-Rouge
-
Péage de La Barque - : A52 autoroute
-
Aires de service: Rousset (eastbound) L'Arc (westbound) - 33 47 km: Pourrières
- Aires de repos: Saint-Hilaire (eastbound) Barcelone (westbound)
- 34 58 km: Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume
- Aires de service: Cambarette
- 35 74 km: Brignoles
- Aires de repos: Roudai/Candumy
- : A57 autoroute
- Aires de service: Vidauban
- 36 118 km: Draguignan / Le Muy, Gulf of Saint-Tropez
- Aires de repos: Jas Pellicot
- Aires de service: Canaver
- 37 129 km: Fréjus / Puget-sur-Argens
- Péage de Le Capitou/Fréjus Ouest
- 38 134 km: Fréjus / Saint-Raphaël
- Aires de service: L'Esterel
- 39 145 km: les Adrets-de-l'Esterel
- 40 157 km: Mandelieu-la-Napoule
- 41 159 km: Cannes / Les Tourrades
- 42 165 km: Cannes / Mougins
- Aires de repos: Piccolaret
- Aires de service: Breguieres
- 44 171 km: Antibes Ouest, Sophia Antipolis
- Péage d' Antibes Ouest
- 46 178 km: Villeneuve-Loubet / Bouches du Loup
- 47 179 km: Villeneuve-Loubet Centre
- 48 181 km: Cagnes-sur-Mer
- 49 185 km: Saint-Laurent-du-Var
- 50 186 km: Nice (promenade des Anglais)
- 51 187 km: Nice (Saint-Augustin)
- Péage de Nice Saint-Isidore
- 52 190 km: Nice (Saint-Isidore)
- 54 197 km: Nice (nord)
- 55 199.5 km: Nice (l'Ariane)
- 56 :
Monaco (A500 Spur) - Péage de La Turbie
- 57 208 km: La Turbie
- Aires de service: La Scoperta (eastbound) Beausoleil (westbound)
- 58 214 km: Roquebrune-Cap-Martin
- 59 220 km: Menton
- State border
- 224 km
Autostrada A10 (Italy)
Opening dates of the A8
- 1956: Creation of Escota, a company to be in charge of all the sections from Aix-en-Provence to the Italian Frontier.
- 1961: Opening of the toll sections of Fréjus through Mandelieu-la-Napoule to Cagnes-sur-Mer (exit 46).
- 1969: Opening of the toll section from Roquebrune to the Italian frontier (initially only one carriageway and for lightweight vehicles. Then, in 1970, both carriageways were opened).
- 1971–1974: Staged opening of the sections between Aix-en-Provence and Fréjus.
- 1976: Opening of the section between Cagnes-sur-Mer and Roquebrune (partly one carriageway only—the doubling of some tunnels was completed as late as 1988).
External links
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