The N-340 is a major highway in

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") , ...

. It is over 1,000 km long starting south of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

and running predominantly along the coast to Chiclana de la Frontera and the

N-IV The N-IV is a major highway in Spain. It connects Madrid to Cádiz. It has generally been up-graded or replaced by the Autovía A-4. It passes via Valdepenas, Córdoba, Ecija, Seville and Jerez de la Frontera. It forms part of European route ...

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

. In many places the road has now been by-passed by the Autovía A-7 and

Autopista AP-7 The ''Autopista AP-7'' (also called ''Autopista del Mediterráneo'') ( ca, Autopista de la Mediterrània) is a Spanish autopista ( controlled-access highway). It runs along the Mediterranean coast of Spain. AP-7 has two different sections (911 ...

. It follows the former

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman R ...

Via Augusta The ''Via Augusta'' (also known as the ''Via Herculea'' or ''Via Exterior'') was the longest and busiest of the major roads built by the Romans in ancient Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula). According to historian Pierre Sillières, who has super ...

'', that was one of the main roads of

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: His ...

. The N-340 route passes the Arc de Berà, a Roman arch. The road starts at the Passeig de Josep Carner in Barcelona. It follows the Avinguda del Paral·lel, Plaça d'Espanya, Carrer de Sants and Carretera de Collblanc before becoming the Carretera de Cadiz a Barcelona and heading through a series of suburbs and industrial areas. The road crosses the

Llobregat The Llobregat () is the second longest river in Catalonia, Spain, after the Ter. It flows into the Mediterranean south of the city of Barcelona. Its name could have originated in an ancient Latin word meaning 'dark', 'sorrowful' or 'muddy', or ...

valley with a junction with the

Autovía A-2 The Autovía A-2 (also called ''Autovia del Nordeste'' and ''Avenida de América'', ca, Autovia del Nord-est) is a Spanish autovía and autopista route which starts in Madrid and ends in Barcelona. It replaces the former N-II. Sections ...

and

Autovía B-24 The Autovia B-24 is a highway in Spain. The road connects Barcelona to the towns of Penedès. It starts at a junction with the Autovía A-2 The Autovía A-2 (also called ''Autovia del Nordeste'' and ''Avenida de América'', ca, Autovia del ...

, it heads through the

Garraf Massif The Garraf Massif ( ca, Massís del Garraf, ) is a mountain range of the Catalan Coastal Range, Catalonia, Spain. Its cliffs reach the Mediterranean waters. Its highest point on the coastal side is La Morella, 593 metres above sea level and furt ...

Vilafranca del Penedès Vilafranca del Penedès, or simply Vilafranca (), is the capital of the ''comarca'' of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. The Spanish spelling of the name, ''Villafranca del Panadés'', is no longer in official use since 1982 (Law 12/1982, o ...

. It then heads along the coast to

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

, changing to the A7 until

Cambrils Cambrils () is a coastal town in the comarca of Baix Camp, province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The town is near the tourist town Salou and is frequently visited by those travelling by air using Reus Airport. History Roman empire to Mi ...

, then crossing the

River Ebro , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...

( delta) and on to Peníscola. Then it passes through

Castellón de la Plana Castellón de la Plana (officially in ca-valencia, Castelló de la Plana), or simply Castellón ( ca-valencia, Castelló, link=no) is the capital city of the province of Castellón, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located in the east ...

after which much of the road has been superseded by the

Autovía CV-10 The Autovía CV-10, also called Autovía de la Plana, is a Spanish motorway in the Valencian Community. It runs through the province of Castellón from south to north, connecting the A-7 in La Vilavella with the N-232 in La Jana. Nomenclature ...

and

Autovía V-21 The Autovía V-21 or Autovía de Acceso Norte a Valencia (''Valencia North Access Autovía'') is a Spanish autovía located in the province of Valencia. It travels from the A-7 A7, A.7, A 7, A07 or A-7 may refer to: Arts and entertainment Musi ...

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

. South of Valencia the road is the

Autovía V-31 The Autovía V-31, commonly called ''Pista de Silla'' ( va, Silla road), is an autovía in Valencia, Spain. It is 13 km (8 miles) long and runs from the junction of the Autopista AP-7 and the Autovía A-7 near the small town of Silla to the ...

before becoming the N-340 after junction 536 km of the A-7. The road then heads inland with a junction with the

Autovía A-35 The Autovía A-35 (formerly known as the Almansa-Xàtiva highway) is a highway in the province of Valencia, Spain. It connects Xàtiva and the N-340/ CV-40 to Almansa and the N-330 The N-330 is a highway in Aragon, Spain. It forms part ...

before crossing the Sierra de Benicadell through

Alcoy Alcoy ( ca-valencia, Alcoi) is an industrial and university city, region and municipality located in the Valencian Community, Spain. The Serpis river crosses the municipal boundary of Alcoy. The local authority reported a population of 61,135 re ...

. The road then branches off along the Rio Torremanzanas towards

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in th ...

. Through traffic now takes the Autovía A-36. The N-340 then passes through

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,

and

Murcia Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the List of municipalities of Spain, seventh largest city in the country. It has a ...

, where the road is at parts dangerous. after which the road is downgraded and joins the A-7 for several stretches. It goes through Lorca. At junction 516 km the road branches in two with the N-340A heading west to Tabernas and the Autovía A-92. The main N-340 becomes the A-7 past

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...

until

Adra The Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA or ADRA International) is a humanitarian agency operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church for the purpose of providing individual and community development and disaster relief. I ...

where the Autopista is under construction. The N-340 passes along the coast past

Motril Motril () is a town and municipality on the Mediterranean coast in the Granada, Spain. It is the second largest town in the province, with a population of 60,368 as of 2016. The town is located near the Guadalfeo River and is from Granada. H ...

Nerja Nerja () is a municipality on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It is part of the comarca of La Axarquía. It is on the country's southern Mediterranean coast, about 50 ...

where the A-7 begins again. After Málaga the road heads through

Torremolinos Torremolinos () is a municipality in Andalusia, southern Spain, west of Málaga. A poor fishing village before the growth in tourism began in the late 1950s, Torremolinos was the first of the Costa del Sol resorts to be developed and is still t ...

and

Fuengirola Fuengirola (), in ancient times known as Suel and then Suhayl, is a large town and municipality on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It is located on the central coast of the pr ...

before becoming the A-7 again. The N-340 re-emerges at

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the r ...

and Puerto Banús and follows the coast south to

Estepona Estepona () is a town and municipality in the comarca of the Costa del Sol, southern Spain. It is located in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its district covers an area of 137 square kilometers in a fertile ...

where it joins the A-7 again to

Algeciras Algeciras ( , ) is a municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar ...

past Gibraltar. The

Autovía A-381 The Autovía A-381 is a local autovía in Andalusia, Spain. It is 88 km (55 miles) long and runs from the Autopista AP-4 at Jerez de la Frontera to the Autovía A-7 at Los Barrios, near Algeciras. Built between 2004 and 2006, it runs paral ...

takes most traffic west to

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , th ...

through the Sierra Blanquilla. The N-340 passes

Tarifa Tarifa (, Arabic: طريفة) is a Spanish municipality in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located at the southernmost end of the Iberian Peninsula, it is primarily known as one of the world's most popular destinations for windsports. Tarifa ...

past the Punta Marroquí o de Tarifa. It then passes Vejer de la Frontera and ends at

Chiclana de la Frontera Chiclana de la Frontera () is a town and municipality in southwestern Spain, in the province of Cádiz, Andalucía, near the Gulf of Cádiz. It belongs to the association of municipalities of the Bay of Cádiz (Bahía de Cádiz), the provincial ...

and the

. The last section is being upgraded to the Autovía A-48.

Major Incidents

On 29 August 2001

Binter Mediterráneo Flight 8261 Binter Mediterráneo Flight 8261 (Registration EC-FBC), on 29 August 2001, crash-landed next to the N-340 highway, some 200 metres short of runway 32 at Ruiz Picasso International Airport at Málaga, Spain. The captain reported a fire in the ai ...

(Registration EC-FBC) crash-landed adjacent to the

N-340 The N-340 is a major highway in Spain. It is over 1,000 km long starting south of Barcelona and running predominantly along the coast to Chiclana de la Frontera and the N-IV to Cádiz. In many places the road has now been by-passed by the ...

near Ruiz Picasso International Airport at Málaga, Spain. Of 44 people aboard, four were killed. The aircraft was scrapped.

Autovía A-36

The Autovía A-36 is an upgrade of the N-340 which provides a more direct (and toll free) route between Alicante and Valencia than the

which runs along the coast. It is scheduled to become the Autovía A-7.

References

External links

Pile-up closes N-340 in Tarragona
{{coord, 36, 27, 02, N, 6, 08, 17, W, type:landmark_source:kolossus-cawiki, display=title National roads in Spain Roads in Catalonia Transport in Andalusia

Major Incidents

Autovía A-36

See also

References

External links