Grande Raccordo Anulare

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The Autostrada del Grande Raccordo Anulare (GRA) is a toll-free, ring-shaped orbital motorway, 68,2 km (42,6 mi) in circumference that encircles Rome. Although the acronym literally means Greater Ring Junction, the GRA was actually named after one of its main designers and supporters, Eugenio Gra, chairman of ANAS, the Italian roads Authority, at the time of construction.

The official number among the Italian motorways is A90, although barely known and not found anywhere on road signs. It's widely and friendly known by Romans as "Il Raccordo" (The Junction)

[edit] History

The idea of an orbital road around Rome was proposed by the end of the World War II. One of the designers' main purposes was to build the road as most equally distant as possible from the geographic centre of town, the Campidoglio, which lies 11,4 km (7 mi) away from the motorway.

Construction works started in the late 1940s. The first section, Flaminia to Tiburtina (north-to-east section) opened in 1952, later extended in stages. The last section to be opened was the west-to-north section (Aurelia to Flaminia), in 1970.

Although the GRA was initially planned and built as a single-carriageway road, it was soon clear that traffic was rapidly growing well beyond the expectations. Upgrade works to motorway standards started in late 1950s with first dual-carriageway, four-lane section opened 1962.

Upgrade works to 6-lane started in 1983 and were completed in stages throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. As of August 2006 90% of the GRA is 6-lane with final sections expected to open by late 2006.

[edit] A New GRA

It is hypothesized in different occasions, the construction of a new ring orbital Motorway, in the attempt to obviate to the chronic congestion of the old one and to offer a new road suitable to the new numerous industrial, commercial and residential zones built to its outside. The project would foresee a new external ring-shaped orbital motorway (long about 120km) to the old long GRA. The cost of the jobs is esteemed in over 5 million of Euro.

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