The A8 autoroute, La Provençale is a highway in France between Aix-en-Provence and the A7 to the Côte d'Azur.

Contents 1 Route 2 Capacity 3 Traffic 4 Interchanges 5 Opening dates of the A8 6 External links

[edit] 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, Cannes, Antibes, Nice, Monaco and Menton before crossing the border where it becomes the A10 in Italy. It crosses the mountain ranges of Sainte-Balsam and of Maures between Aix-en-Provence and Frejus and it Massif de l'Ésterel between Saint-Raphaël and Cannes. Following the Grande Corniche the road offers panoramas of the sea between Nice and Menton.

[edit] Capacity

• 2x3 lanes from Coudoux (the junction with the A7 to La Barque (junction with theA52).

• 2x2 lanes from La Barque to Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume (being improved 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).

[edit] 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 section Nice-Menton 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.

[edit] Interchanges

• 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
• 224 km ItalyA10 autostrada dei fiori

[edit] 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).

[edit] External links

• Autoroute A8 on Saratlas

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