Autovía A-22 | |
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Autovía Huesca-Lleida | |
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Route information | |
Length: | 110 km (70 mi) |
Major junctions | |
From: | Huesca |
To: | Lleida |
Highway system | |
Autopistas and autovías in Spain |
Autovía A-22 or Autovía Huesca-Lleida is an upgrade of a section of the existing N-240 Spanish road, managed by the Spanish Government, between Huesca, the second largest city in Aragón and Lleida, a provincial capital in Catalonia. The route has all sections now open to traffic with the exception of the last 13km into Huesca.
The A-22 runs mainly in parallel to the existing N-240 road except for certain specific stretches such as the Monzón bypass which opened in 2008, and the Barbastro bypass where alternative routes have been employed. The construction has been divided into the following sectors, Huesca-Siétamo, Siétamo-Velillas, Velillas-Ponzano, Ponzano-El Pueyo, Barbastro Bypass, Monzón Bypass, Binéfar Bypass, Binéfar Bypass-Aragón/Catalonia border, Aragón/Catalonia border-Almacelles Bypass, Almacelles Bypass-La Cerdera, La Cerdera-Junction with A-2 Motorway at the edge of Lleida [1].
By the summer of 2010 more than half of the A-22 was operational as a four-lane highway comprising 6 of the above sectors. However, in July 2010 a cessation of work due to governmental financial difficulties was announced, despite the Binefar Bypass section being 80% complete. This decision provoked much controversy with local government officials calling for the work to be resumed, citing the dangers associated with the current unfinished road layout [2]. Fortunately work was restarted and by 2012 all but one sector was fully open creating an uninterrupted length of around 99km starting from the intersection with the A-2 on the edge of Lleida. The remaining section is the 13km Huesca - Sietamo sector which is not currently under construction necessitating a transfer onto the N-240 to complete the journey into the city of Huesca.