The A1 motorway, locally referred to as the NicosiaLimassol highway is the first and longest motorway built in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. It marked the beginning of an ambitious government project to link all the main cities on the island with modern 4 lane highways. It is 73 km long and is free of any

at-grade intersection An intersection or an at-grade junction is a junction where two or more roads converge, diverge, meet or cross at the same height, as opposed to an interchange, which uses bridges or tunnels to separate different roads. Major intersections a ...

s. It links the capital

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

(which is the administrative and financial hub), with

Limassol Limassol (; el, Λεμεσός, Lemesós ; tr, Limasol or ) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the district with the same name. Limassol is the second largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population ...

, the largest port (and second largest city) on the island.

Junctions

*1. Athalassas Avenue (

Strovolos Strovolos ( el, Στρόβολος; tr, Strovolos; hy, Ստրովոլոս) is a municipality of Nicosia District. With a population of nearly 70,000, it is the second most populated municipality in Cyprus, after Limassol, and the most populated ...

)- B1-A1 *2. B22, (Kalamon, Strovolos) *3. C1, (Filippou Papakyprianou)(Strovolos) *4. C2,

Latsia Latsia ( el, Λατσιά []; tr, Laçça, a village on the south east outskirts of Nicosia, Cyprus, is today one of the city's largest suburbs. It hosts the new Nicosia General Hospital, the new GSP Stadium and the Mall of Cyprus. Latsia has se ...

*5.

E102(Road) Tartrazine is a synthetic lemon yellow azo dye primarily used as a food coloring. It is also known as E number E102, C.I. 19140, FD&C Yellow 5, Yellow 5 Lake, Acid Yellow 23, Food Yellow 4, and trisodium 1-(4-sulfonatophenyl)-4-(4-sulfonatop ...

Nisou Nisou ( gr, Νήσου, tr, Dizdarköy) is a village in the Nicosia District of Cyprus, just north of Pera Chorio and it is about 15 kilometres from the capital. It is built at the north bank of the Yialia River. The old road of Nicosia-Limassol ...

*6.

E103(Road) Alkannin is a natural dye that is obtained from the extracts of plants from the borage family ''Alkanna tinctoria'' that are found in the south of France. The dye is used as a food colouring and in cosmetics. It is used as a red-brown food additive ...

- A2,

Pera Chorio Pera Chorio ( gr, Πέρα Χωριό) is a large village in Cyprus, located near the town of Dali. The population of the village is around 2,200 people, many of whom are refugees who went to the village after the 1974 Turkish invasion. The Rive ...

*7.

E104(Road) Quinoline Yellow WS is a mixture of organic compounds derived from the dye Quinoline Yellow SS (spirit soluble). Owing to the presence of sulfonate groups, the WS dyes are water-soluble (WS). It is a mixture of disulfonates (principally), monosu ...

Mosfiloti Mosfiloti ( gr, Μοσφιλωτή, tr, Mosfiloti) is a village located in the Larnaca District of Cyprus. The village is named after the Mosfilo, a variety of White Hawthorn making a delicious jelly, which grows abundantly in the region. It is ...

*8.

E143(Road) Fast Green FCF, also called Food green 3, FD&C Green No. 3, Green 1724, Solid Green FCF, and C.I. 42053, is a turquoise triarylmethane food dye. Its E number is E143. Fast Green FCF is recommended as a replacement of Light Green SF yellowish in ...

, Kornos Dytika *9. A5- B1,

Andreas Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of B ...

*10.

Skarinou Skarinou ( el, Σκαρίνου, tr, Iskarinu) is a village in the Larnaca District of Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolia ...

*11. B1, Choirokoita *12. B1- E106(Road), Fornous *13. E107(Road), Fornous *14. B1, Faros(Cyprus) *15. F119(Road), Pentakomo *16. B1, Moni(Village, Cyprus) *17. F109(Road), Agios Tychon *18.Nikalas,

Limasol Limassol (; el, Λεμεσός, Lemesós ; tr, Limasol or ) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the district with the same name. Limassol is the second largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population ...

History

In the late 1970s, the Cypriot Government introduced a series of schemes to improve the infrastructure of transport on the Island. The first planned motorway was to be built between

and Nicosia International Airport, roughly on the route of the current Griva Digeni Avenue. The road was widened in preparation but following the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus in July 1974 and the closure of the airport as a result, this scheme was abandoned, Construction started on the A1 to connect Nicosia with the new main port of Cyprus at

in 1978. The construction started at both ends concurrently. In the initial construction, the junctions were at grade separation. Although reconstruction at the Nicosia end has obliterated any evidence of this, drivers can still see the filter lanes at junction 17. The motorway was opened in stages, with the final stage (Kornos to Kophinou) completed in October 1984, while upgrades within the city of Limassol were completed in summer 2008. These upgrades included the Polemidia and Troödos junction, Agia Filaxis Junction, Agios Athanasios junction, Linopetra junction, and Germasogeia junction, and involved the replacement of a series of roundabouts with flyovers or underpasses. Since 2012, the section of the motorway between the entrance of Nicosia and the intersection with the A2 motorway is upgraded to a 6 lane road due to heavy traffic observed.

References

Motorways and roads in Cyprus Limited-access roads {{Cyprus-transport-stub

Junctions

History

See also

References