A1 motorway (Tunisia)
Road connecting Tunis and Ben Guerdane
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tunisia's A1 or A-1 motorway is a 659 km road connecting Tunis and Ben Guerdane. In the map shown, the A-1 is in red. The highway was built from Tunis at the north end toward the south and is continuing to be extended to finally reach the Tunisian Libyan border.
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| Route information | |
| Length | 659 km (409 mi) |
| Existed | 1981–present |
| Major junctions | |
| North end | Tunis |
| South end | Ben Guerdane |
| Location | |
| Country | Tunisia |
| Major cities | Tunis, Ben Arous, Hammam Lif, Hammamet, Enfida, Sousse, El Jem, Sfax, Gabès, Medenine, Ben Guerdane |
| Highway system | |
The A-1 is conceived of as part of an international project, sometimes called the Trans-Maghreb[1] or Trans-North Africa Highway[2] or Trans-African Highway 1 that is planned to reach from Cairo to Dakar.
There are three lanes each way from Tunis to Hammamet then two lanes each way from Hammamet to Sfax. It is a toll road part of the way. Road signs are in Arabic and French. The speed limit on Tunisian highways is 110 km/h.
History
Further construction
The extension to Gabes took a long time: progress slowed after the Tunisian revolution of 2011[2] and the European Investment Bank provided with some financial support for extensions, starting in 2014.[4][5]
In January 2023, advancement of the remaining 182 km from Gabès to Medenine, Ben Gardane, and to Ras Jedir on the Libyan border was estimated to be 90% completed at cost of 550 million dinars, with already 5 interchanges, 4 toll stations, 4 restop areas, and 107 hydraulic structures already built on the Gabes-Medenine section. Opening is planned for the end of May 2023.[6]
Distances, rest areas, and exits
The planned route from Tunis to the Libyan frontier is 573 km:
- Tunis-Hammamet (51 km)
- Hammamet-M'saken (92 km) with an exit at Sousse
- M'saken-Sfax (97 km) with an exit at Mahdia
- Sfax-Gabès (151 km, under development)
- Gabès-Libyan border (182 km, planned for 2018)
There are service areas at Grombalia, Sidi Khelifa, Borjine, and El Jem.
Exits and interchanges are, in order: the interchange between A1 and Olympic City November 7th, Hammam Lif, Mornag, Grombalia, Turki, Hammamet-Nord, Golf Hammamet, Hammamet, Hammamet-Sud, Bouficha, Enfidha, Enfidha–Hammamet International Airport, Hergla, Sidi Bou Ali, Kalâa Kebira, Sousse, Sousse city center, M'saken, Jemmel, Kerker, El Jem, El Hencha, and Sfax-Nord
