The A12 is an Italian autostrada (motorway), composed of two unconnected parts. The first one connects

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

and

Rosignano Marittimo Rosignano Marittimo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Livorno in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southwest of Florence and about southeast of Livorno. Geography Rosignano Marittimo borders the following municipalities ...

, the second connects

Civitavecchia Civitavecchia (; meaning "ancient town") is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located west-north-west of Rome. The harbour is formed by two pier ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The road is one of the motorways on the Italian west coast.

Overview

Plans to build the remaining stretch have existed for long time, but have never been executed, mostly because of the bad impact on the environment. A "superstrada" (an almost motorway-like road, with 2 separate carriageways and interchanges) with a speed limit of exists between Rosignano Marittimo and

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the Ombrone river. It is the ...

, but the present road between Grosseto and Civitavecchia has speed limit, with long parts of single carriageway and even some parts of 2-lane road. The 2 proposed solutions are an entirely new motorway (with higher impact on the environment), and the upgrade to motorway standard of the present road (more environmentally friendly). Lack of agreement between supporters of either idea has led to the present situation. The road is also known as "Autostrada Azzurra", the Blue Motorway. On 17 May 2017 the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

announced that it would be taking

legal action In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the party ...

against the government of Italy for awarding an extension of its A12 motorway

concession contract A concession or concession agreement is a grant of rights, land or property by a government, local authority, corporation, individual or other legal entity. Public services such as water supply may be operated as a concession. In the case of a p ...

to Società Autostrada Tirrenica p.A without undertaking a competitive procurement exercise in accordance with EU procurement regulations.European Commission, Press Release IP/17/1284, ''Motorway concessions: Commission refers Italy to the Court of Justice of the EU'', 17 May 2017

References

External links

{{Autostrade A12 Transport in Liguria Transport in Tuscany Transport in Lazio