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The Autovía A-66 is a major highway in western Spain, part of the European route E803. The road is an upgrade of the N-630 which was undertaken section by section. The route roughly corresponds to the ancient
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
' Silver Route' connecting the cities of Mérida and Astorga.


Route

Autovía A-66 starts at
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
with a junction with the Autovía A-49. It heads north through the wooded '' Sierra Morena'' and passes over the ''Puerto de las Marismas''. It then crosses from
Andalucia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It i ...
into
Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...
. It heads through the town of
Zafra Zafra (; ) is a town in the Province of Badajoz (Extremadura, Spain), and the capital of the comarca of Zafra - Río Bodión. It has a population of 16,677, according to the 2011 census. Zafra is the hometown of Fray Ruy Lopez, author of one of ...
on the way to Mérida crossing the ''Tierra de Barros''. It ends in a junction with the Autovía A-5. North of Mérida the road crosses the ''Sierra de San Pedro'' to the town and world heritage site of Cáceres. Then the road crosses the Tajo and Almonte rivers. The road heads north east as it enters the ''Sierra de Gredos''. The road becomes the N-630 (at km 489) south of the town of Plasencia. It then heads to the university town of
Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...
via
Béjar Béjar () is a town and municipality of Spain located in the province of Salamanca, autonomous community of Castile and León. As of 2018, it had a population of 12,961. The historical development of the town has been linked to its once thriving ...
. The road crosses the Rio Tormes and the Autovía A-62. The section north of Zamora leading to the Rio Duero. 18 km north where the road will meet the reservoir ''Embalse del Esla de Ricobayo'' is under construction as of October 2013. Here the N-630 heads north west to the Autovía A-52, and the N-630 along the Rio Esla to the Autovía A-6. 6 km north the A-66 branches to the north with a downgraded N-630 parallel. The road then enters the province of León.


Autopista AP-66

At León the road becomes a toll Autopista AP-66 and the N-630 a trunk road as they pass through the ''Cordillera Cantábrica''. South of León there is a junction with the Autopista AP-71 and Autovía A-231. The N-630 crosses the ''Alto del Rabizo'' (1,160m) and Puerto de Pajares (1,379m). Inaugurated on 11 August 1983, the AP-66 avoid these two passes and goes through the Negrón Tunnel, the sixth longest tunnel in Spain. Entering
Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...
, the roads re-converge 36 km south of the next major city
Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...
. There is a junction with the Autovía A-64 and AS-I. The A-66 finally ends 13 km north of Oviedo at a junction with the Autovía A-8 near
Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality by population in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coa ...
on the Atlantic Coast.


References

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