HIGH-SPEED MOTOR ROADS

New Zealand Times, Volume LII, Issue 12075, 28 February 1925, Page 14

HIGH-SPEED MOTOR ROADS

Tlie King of Italy opened in September the first auto-strade (special motor road) of the system which is to link Milan with the lakes of Varese, Maggiore, and Como. These roads are reserved solely for motor-cars, to the exclusion of even motor-cycles (says the Milan correspondent of the London “Times”)', and are the first of the kind in the world. No doubt they will be a special attraction to foreign tourists. The " idea is tc connect Milan with the lakes by means or long, straight roads, which will enable high-speed cars to reach the lakes in very little time. The first section to be completed from Milan ,to Varese, which was opened, is about 30} miles long. 'The roads are cement-faced, and have straight stretches of six. seven, and even 10 miles The undertaking was begun in June of last year, and a few figures may give an idea of the finished work. The land had to be levelled, necessitating the removal of 60.000.000 cubic feet of earth, hillocks 50ft high have been razed, and the cuttings have been mado in which the motor roads run some 70ft below the level of the surrounding country. Populated centres have been avoided, but it has been Impossible to avoid tne dense network ol roads and waterways, which have been bridged or tunnelled. Thirty-three viaducts and 56 underground passages have been constructed, as well as 60 miles of new roads leading to the autostrade at different points. Four thousand men have been at work on the undertaking for 15 months. The total expenditure was 76.000.000 lire The remaining two sections will be finished within the next two months.