By Ashley Karen
In September, in Ventimiglia, representatives of the Government, Liguria Region, Province of Imperia, and local municipalities submitted the EUR 1.2 bn project for the Sanremo-Ventimiglia Aurelia Bis section.
The definitive alignment of the Aurelia Bis between Sanremo and the French border has been shared with all local authorities and will now specifically be in tunnels.
The existing S.S. n.1 Aurelia, traveling the municipalities of Sanremo, Ospedaletti, Bordighera, Vallecrosia, Camporosso, and Ventimiglia, has several crucial problems due to considerable factors, incorporating:
- The prohibited road section;
- Several buildings confronting the complete settlements with notable settlement loads;
- The considerable increase in traffic in the summer period;
- The absence of rest areas.
The project will concern a two-lane C1 road section, one in each direction, which will decongest traffic in the area and deliver an alternative road to the A10 motorway in the event of closures and will leave the only local and tourist function to the historic Aurelia coastal route.
The 17 km stretch of Aurelia Bis from Sanremo to Ventimiglia will have three construction lots:
- Lot 1, Sanremo Variante
- Lot 2, Sanremo-Ospedaletti
- Lot 3, Ospedaletti-Ventimiglia
In the Feasibility Study, 4 Route Alternatives were investigated and submitted to the local administrations at the start of 2023. Following these talks, two additional alternatives were examined and compared with a multi-criteria analysis. Alternative E was selected: Centre, Pian Poma/Ventimiglia.
For building the 4.3km Lot 1 – Sanremo Variation, the Extraordinary Commissioner Eng. Matteo Castiglioni was nominated with a Prime Ministerial Decree on 9 May 2022.
The PFTE (Technical Economic Feasibility Project) and the SIA (Environmental Impact Study) have to be finished before beginning the authorization procedures as mandated by the new procurement code (Legislative Decree no. 36/2023).
Lot 2, San Remo-Ospedaletti, will be 4.4 km long with three tunnels for a total of 3.4 km. It will contain the construction of:
- The Pian di Poma roundabout linking with the Sanremo Variante and Padre Semeria Road
- The Ospedaletti West roundabout linking with the historic Aurelia.
Lot 3, Ospedaletti – Ventimiglia, will be 8.65 km long with five tunnels for a total of 7.5 km, which will involve the municipalities of Bordighera, Vallecrosia, and Camporosso.
In addition, due to its complexity, it will be divided into three sections: Section 1 between Ospedaletti and Bordighera East, 3.45 km long, with 3.29 km in the tunnel; Section 2 between Bordighera East and Camporosso, 2.40 km long, with 1.94 km in the tunnel; Section 3 between Camporosso and Ventimiglia, 2.8 km long with 2.4 km in the tunnel.
The deputy minister of infrastructure and transport, Edoardo Rixi, declared that if all environmental procedures are organized to be closed by 2024, it will be possible to start construction of the first works in the second half of 2025.
The goal is to begin the works from the Sanremo side with the first functional lot of EUR300 million and from the Ventimiglia side with the first about EUR200 million subsection.
The various work phases will be shared with the territory intending to optimize the construction. Moreover, it will find solutions for the disposal/reuse of excavated soil so as not to congest the road system anymore. An expected duration of the works will only be probable after carrying out the executive projects.
