Autostrada A9 (Italy)
The Autostrada A9 is an Italian motorway approximately long, located entirely within the Lombardy region of northern Italy. It connects the A8 motorway at Lainate, near Milan, to Como and the Swiss border at Chiasso, where it joins the Swiss A2 motorway. The route is part of the European route E35.
Together with the A8 motorway, the A9 forms part of the Autostrada dei Laghi. This network, whose first section was inaugurated on 21 September 1924, was the world's first purpose-built motorway reserved for motor vehicles.
History
The concept of reserved motorways originated in Italy. Engineer Piero Puricelli presented his project for the Autostrada dei Laghi in 1921, receiving the first governmental authorization to build a public-utility fast road. In a 1922 official document, he coined the term autostrada to describe roads designed for fast traffic, reserved solely for motor vehicles.Construction took place between 1923 and 1924. The first section, from Milan to Varese, was inaugurated on 21 September 1924, making Italy the first country with such a road. The branch leading from Lainate towards Como was completed shortly after. Puricelli financed the project by introducing tolls.
The project was considered futuristic at the time, as Italy had relatively few motor vehicles – approximately 84,000 in 1924, rising to around 173,000 by 1929.
Originally built as a single-carriageway road, the Autostrada dei Laghi network, including the A9, was progressively upgraded to dual carriageways between the late 1950s and mid-1960s to handle increasing traffic volumes.