Winston Churchill Avenue is an

arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways/motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector ro ...

in the

British overseas territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, and is the only road in and out of the territory, connecting it with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Once the customs are crossed, the avenue becomes the

dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

( es, Autovía)

CA-34 California's 34th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in California. Located in Los Angeles County, the district is represented by Democrat Jimmy Gomez Jimmy Gomez (born November 25, 1974) is an American politician servi ...

(former

national road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the Federal Government of the United States, federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Pot ...

N-351).

Description

The northern end of the road starts at Gibraltar's border with Spain and passes

Gibraltar International Airport Gibraltar International Airport or North Front Airport is the civilian airport that serves the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The runway is owned by the Ministry of Defence for use by the Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (R ...

at Victoria Stadium, which is Gibraltar's major sporting venue. The road intersects the airport's

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

at surface level; movable barricades close when

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

land or take off. In 2009, the

Government of Gibraltar His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar is the democratically elected government of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The head of state is King Charles III who is represented by the Governor. Elections in Gibraltar are held every four ...

announced that a new highway will be built in order to avoid motor vehicles crossing the runway, which currently causes congestion. The new road, a dual carriageway, will link the customs checkpoint with

Devil's Tower Road Devil's Tower Road is a road in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The road, in the northeastern part of the settlement, runs south of Gibraltar International Airport, from Winston Churchill Avenue, Gibraltar, Winston Churchill Avenue s ...

, crossing the east end of the airport runway underground, through a 350-metre tunnel. File:Winston Churchill Avenue, Gibraltar.jpg File:Winston Churchill Avenue Gibraltar.JPG File:Winston Churchill Avenue runway crossing.jpg File:Winston Churchill Avenue quo, Gibraltar.jpg

Operation Flavius

In 1988, the then-

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard ou ...

petrol station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoline ...

located on the road was the scene of a controversial British military operation known as Operation Flavius. On 6 March, a

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...

(SAS) group shot dead three members of a

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reun ...

(IRA) team, made up of Danny McCann,

Seán Savage Seán Savage ( ga, Seán Sabhaois) (26 January 1965 – 6 March 1988) was a member of the Provisional IRA who was shot dead by the British Army whilst being accused attempting to plant a car bomb in Gibraltar. Early life Born into an Irish Re ...

and

Mairéad Farrell Mairéad Farrell ( ga, Máiréad Ní Fhearghail or ''Mairéad Ní Fhearail'') (3 March 1957 – 6 March 1988) was a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). She was shot dead by the British Army in Gibraltar on 6 March 1988.Pg 30 ...

while they were making their way to Spain on foot. The three were suspected of planning to kill members of a British military band with a car bomb outside the

Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the ...

's official residence, The Convent. At the subsequent inquest into the deaths, members of the SAS team stated that they believed that the three were armed and that they were capable of remotely detonating the suspected bomb. The legality of the deaths was challenged in the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

(see ''

McCann and Others v United Kingdom ''McCann and Others v United Kingdom'' (21 ECHR 97 GC) is a legal case tried in 1995 before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding a purported breach of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights by the United Kingdom. F ...

''), but it was eventually ruled that the killings were lawful.UK Law Online
Leeds University, paragraph 15 and 17(c) and (d)

References

Streets in Gibraltar Monuments and memorials to Winston Churchill {{Europe-road-stub