Lazio, Salaria Plan: FS and Anas inspect the worksites and completed works in the province of Rieti

The reinforcement and redevelopment operations total over 460 million euro

Rome, 13 March 2021

The commitment of Anas (FS Italiane Group) continues with a strengthening of its road network and regional mobility.

This morning, the FS CEO Gianfranco Battisti and Anas CEO Massimo Simonini met with Mauro Alessandri, Regional Councillor for Public Works and Mobility, at the construction sites in the province of Rieti where new operations are underway for the “Salaria Plan”.

Investments planned for Lazio amount to 463 million euro, of which 444 million is for upgrading and redevelopment, whilst a further 19 million has been set aside for the Smart Road project. The Salaria Plan also covers the region of Le Marche with an investment of approximately 369 million euro, whilst the total cost of the operations in the two regions comes to more than 831 million euro for new works and scheduled maintenance.

“The FS Group accelerates its investment in Lazio with an 18-billion-euro plan for road, railway, stations and train infrastructure,” stated Gianfranco Battisti, FS Italiane’s Chief Executive Officer and General Director. “Anas has total investments in new works worth almost 2 billion euro, along with scheduled maintenance operations for over 820 million euro. The works to complete the “Salaria Plan” testify to our commitment to the sustainable development of strategic infrastructures at the service of the country and take on even greater importance for the future with the benefits of the Smart Road technological innovation.”

“Anas has an utmost and constant commitment to the territory,” declared Anas CEO, Massimo Simonini. “The work in progress as part of the Salaria Plan is decisive and aimed at strengthening the connection with the seismic crater area and with all of central Italy, raising the levels of safety and comfort for users in transit whilst reducing travel times thanks to the elimination of level crossings, the expansion of the roadway and the facilitation of traffic flows in high-use hubs. It is a strategic and sustainable redevelopment plan given that it looks to the future thanks to the new Smart Road technologies that will allow this important artery to classify as a so-called intelligent road.”

The enhancement plan has been broken down into two stages:

The first phase concerns the immediate operations, being to upgrade and secure the artery in its current configuration through scheduled maintenance operations to resolve local situations (such as level crossing) and to improve the maintenance standards of existing road works (artworks, galleries, technological plants).

There are also operations that, whilst resolving specific situations, are preparatory to the upgrading of the subsequent Phase 2 (climbing lanes).

The second phase concerns artery enhancement operations with new construction works for doubling the artery, from two to four lanes in each direction of travel. Through these works, the optimal service levels will significantly increase, reducing travel times.

In detail, the operations planned for the SS4 Salaria are divided into two sections:

  • the first part from where it meets the ring road Grande Raccordo Anulare (kilometre 12.100) until the Passo Corese in the province of Rieti (kilometre 36.00);
  • the second connects Passo Corese (kilometre 36.00) passing through Rieti (kilometre 71.800) up to the regional border at kilometre 144,958.

Within the first section, safety works coming to 20 million euro and the operations for new works totalling 97 million euro were designed and executed.

Amongst the main operations for this section is the new road to the town of Monterotondo Scalo (RM) with a total investment of 97 million euro.

In particular, the first functional section – currently a worksite – shall connect the roundabout on Via Righi to the southbound municipal road of Via del Semblera. This operation will result in a decongestion of traffic along a section of the current Salaria that now travels through the town of Monterotondo Scalo. The completion of the new variant will be guaranteed by the second section, still in the design phase, which will connect the new motorway link road to the SS4 Salaria near Via di Vallericca.

The second section involving the upgrade and securing works saw an investment of 118.34 million euro. 71.5 million is for the Passo Corese-Rieti section and 46.9 euro for the stretch that extends from Rieti to the border with the region of Le Marche, with works including the elimination of the traffic-light intersection with the construction of the Passo Corese roundabout and the Montelibretti roundabouts.

218.8 million euro was invested in the new works, which involves the expansion of the roadway from two to four lanes in the section between Ponte Buida and the Colle Giardino tunnel, along with a consolidation of the Rieti intersections and the adaptation of the stretch between the Micigliano junction and the Gole del Velino tunnel, which is currently being completed.

The works to eliminate the Passo Corese traffic-light crossroads are being completed and required a total investment of 3.2 million euro, through which it will be possible to improve the overall road system along the SS4 Salaria, near the hamlet of Passo Corese.

The aim is to ensure an adequate level of service and to facilitate a marked improvement of vehicular outflow both to local traffic and for long-distance flows.

To be consigned shortly are the works to establish the crossing of the municipal road to Montelibretti with the SS4 Salaria from between Kilometre 37,000 and 39,000 in Borgo S. Maria, in the municipalities of Montelibretti and Fara in Sabina, seeing a total investment of 2.4 million euro.

Through this operation, the SS4 Salaria will be redesigned on the current platform, eliminating the existing problems caused to traffic due to the turns, as part of the old configuration to exploit part of the surface paved for the construction of a road for agricultural and residential use, running parallel to Via Salaria, which will intercept all private access points, whose positioning along the Salaria due to planimetric and altimetric alignment conditions do not guarantee the appropriate safety standards that distinguish the state roads managed by Anas.

During the month of April, works for the construction of the overtaking lane between Kilometre 47.500 and Kilometre 49.133 will be consigned, ensuring an improvement to road safety.

The project involves the creation of 3 sections of additional lanes for overtaking slow vehicles between Kilometre 43.000 and Kilometre 49.000, between Borgo Quinzio and Osteria Nuova respectively, to allow overtaking in both directions of traffic.

In November 2020, Anas opened up to traffic part of the new 4-kilometre section of the Salaria Highway 4, between the junction of Micigliano (Kilometre 101.100) and the Gole del Velino tunnel (Kilometre 104.800), in the territory of the municipality of Micigliano and the municipality of Posta (Rieti).

The main works consisted in the realisation of 2 natural galleries – the San Quirico (extending 990 metres) and the Sant’Angelo (at a length of 240 metres), which are flanked by works to secure the slopes, retaining walls and reinforced earth) along with reinforced concrete works crossing the road body.

The total investment amounted to 49 million euro.