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A8 autoroute

Route map:
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A8 autoroute shield
A8 autoroute
Route information
Part ofE80
Maintained by ASF
Length224 km (139 mi)
Existed1961–present
Major junctions
West endA 7at Marseille
Major intersections
  • A 51near Aix-en-Provence
  • A 52near Châteauneuf-le-Rouge
  • A 57near Le Luc
  • Road continues as theA10inItaly
East endItalianborder;road continues as the ItalianA10
Location
CountryFrance
Highway system
  • Roads in France

TheA8 autoroute,also known asLa Provençale,is a 224-kilometer (139 mi)-long highway inFrancethat runs betweenAix-en-Provenceand theA7to theCôte d'Azur.

Route

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The A8 is an extension of theA7starting to the west of Aix-en-Provence at La Fare-les-Oliviers. The road passes through the Departments ofBouches-du-Rhône,VarandAlpes-Maritimes.It serves the towns of Aix-en-Provence,Fréjus,Saint-Raphaël,Mandelieu-la-Napoule,Cannes,Antibes,Nice,MonacoandMentonbefore crossing the border where it becomes theA10inItaly.It crosses the mountain ranges ofSainte-Baumeand ofMauresbetween Aix-en-Provence and Fréjus and theMassif de l'Esterelbetween Saint-Raphaël and Cannes. Following theGrande Cornichethe road offers panoramas of the sea between Nice and Menton.

Whilst the route now starts to the west of Aix-en-Provence, according to the 3rd edition (1973) of the Michelin Atlas des autoroutes de France, the A8 used to start just west of Coudoux. Indeed the toll fees were listed as being 2FF from Coudoux to Aix-en-Provence in 1973.

Capacity

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Traffic

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The road has heavy traffic all year round and is especially congested in July and August (in particular aroundAntibesandNice.As a result, traffic-management schemes have been adopted betweenVarto 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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Opening dates of the A8

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  • 1956:Creation ofEscota,a company to be in charge of all the sections fromAix-en-Provenceto the Italian Frontier.
  • 1961:Opening of the toll sections ofFréjusthroughMandelieu-la-NapouletoCagnes-sur-Mer(exit 46).
  • 1969:Opening of the toll section fromRoquebruneto 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 betweenAix-en-ProvenceandFréjus.
  • 1976:Opening of the section betweenCagnes-sur-MerandRoquebrune(partly one carriageway only—the doubling of some tunnels was completed as late as 1988).
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