2007 Lombardy Infrastructure Report

2007 was a positive year for Lombardy’s infrastructure. Important projects for access to Milan were completed: quadrupling of the Cadorna-Bovisa and Pioltello-Treviglio highways and the fourth lane on the Milan-Bergamo motorway.
20% of Italian international freight traffic is concentrated in Lombardy, and 30% of the warehousing used nationally by logistics operators is in the Milan area.
At the regional level:
  •  work proceeds to improve road access to the Rho Fairgrounds and on the Brescia South beltway and the Boffalora-    Malpensa section
  •  ground has been broken on new projects: Bergamo South beltway, Lecco-Bergamo connection, Varese mini-beltway
  •  part of the Mantua beltway has been completed
  •  work on the Milan-Novara and Milan–Bologna HS/HC rail lines is nearing completion.
An important event was the formation of CAL (Concessioni Autostradali Lombarde), the ANAS-Lombardy Region mixed company that, with the role and powers of concession provider, will be issuing the contracts for three new motorways: Pedemontana Lombarda,  Brescia-Bergamo-Milan direct motorway connection (Brebemi) and the outer beltways of Milan.

Progress was less brilliant on a few other projects:
  •  the HS/HC rail line from Treviglio to Verona, blocked until October 2007 pending the sentence of the State Council
  •  the Milan-Genoa HS/HC rail line, particularly the so-called Third Crossing
  •  work on the Italian section of the new St. Gotthard tunnel
  •  completion of the Rho-Monza.

Program Agreements and Protocols of Understanding

2007 brought the signing of three important program agreements that will ensure an improvement in the Lombard road system.
  •  Agreement to build the Pedemontano Motorway System (19 February)
  •  Agreement for the Brebemi Milan-Brescia direct motorway connection (7 May)
  •  Agreement for the Milan Outer East beltway and expansion of the east Milan and north Lodi road system (5 November). Also on 5 November, a protocol of understanding was signed for the design and construction of integrated works involving:
  •  for the first act, the Pedemontano Road System and the NE Milan Rail Throughway (Seregno-Bergamo section)
  •  for the second act, the Milan-Brescia direct motorway connection (Brebemi) and the new Milan-Brescia HS/HC rail line (Treviglio-Brescia section).
Lastly, regarding the Milan metro system, signing of the protocol of understanding (31 July) and the relative supplemental act (5 November):
  •  extension of the M3 from S. Donato to Paullo
  •  new M4 from Lorenteggio to Linate
  •  M5 from Garibaldi to San Siro
  •  extension of the M1 from Sesto FS to Monza Bettola
  •  extension of the M2 from Cologno North to Vimercate
  •  metro-tram Milan (Parco Nord)-Desio-Seregno
  •  interchange hub at Rho Fairgrounds.

Principal projects

Brescia-Milan direct motorway connection (Bre–Be–Mi)

The purpose of the project (60.9 km long) is to alleviate vehicle traffic congestion on the Milan-Brescia motorway. It consists of a connection 49.8 km long that begins at the intersection with the SP 19 in Brescia and ends at Melzo with an access link for Milan, totaling 11.1 km, connecting the SP 103 "Cassanese", the SP 14 "Rivoltana" and the SS 415 "Paullese".

Pedemontano road system

This project arose from a need to provide an alternative system for connecting on the east-west axis in northern Italy, given the polarization around the Milan area. The purpose of the project is to create an alternative road system to the Bergamo–Milan-Como-Varese complex along the A4/A8/A9 motorway system that develops northward from the Lombard capital.
The Pedemontano road system involves the construction of Varese and Como beltways (20 km) and the connection (67 km) between the A8 motorway at Cassano Magnano to the A4 motorway at Osio Sotto/Dalmine, in addition to the connecting works (48 km).

Milan Outer East Beltway

The layout of the project extends for 35 km in a primarily north-south direction, with 28.5 km in the province of Milan and 6.5 km in the province of Lodi.

Road access to the new Milan Fairgrounds site

This project consists of a road connecting S.P. 46 Rho-Monza and S.S. 33 del Sempione on Corso Europa in Rho, including six exits and new service areas.
This is a 4-lane connecting road 4,510 meters long. The on/off-ramp works have a total length of 2,700 meters and include 10 viaducts, 3 artificial tunnels and 2 overpasses.

High-speed/high-capacity rail line - Turin-Milan section

The line is laid out just north of the current "historical" line and has a single infrastructural corridor coinciding largely with the motorway corridor. The new line, 125 km long, begins near the Turin Stura station and ends just before the Milan Certosa station.
The roadway extends just to the south of the A4 Turin-Milan motorway up to the town of Sedriano. From there, the line passes over the A4 and follows it on the north side for 3 km to the city of Rho. The line then turns sharply northeast, leaving the motorway and, after a broad southeast curve, reconnects to the existing Turin-Milan rail line, entering the hub of Milan.
It will be structurally integrated with the existing rail line through three interchanges at Santhià (west of Vercelli), Novara west (freight only) and Novara east. Completion is scheduled in 2009.

Milan-Bologna section

The Milan-Bologna high-speed line follows a route of 182 km and passies through the provinces of Milan, Lodi, Piacenza, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena and Bologna.
The chosen layout runs for most of its length alongside the A1 motorway or the existing rail line. It is integrated with the existing line with eight rail connections, for total of 28 km of double track, that provide function interchange between the new line and the existing network and ensure the stopping and routing of high-speed trains on the historical line.
From 15 December 2008, the high-speed train will reduce the travel time from Milan to Bologna to 60 minutes (versus the current 97 minutes).

Milan-Verona section

The corridor extends south of the current "historical" line, within Lombardy, for a length of 60 km, mostly on raised track bed, with five viaducts (Adda, Serio and Oglio rivers) and three artificial tunnels (SS 11 naer Caravaggio).
It consists of two principal projects, the “Pioltello-Treviglio quadrupling” and the new line from Treviglio to Verona. In particular, the Milan–Treviglio section, inaugurated on 2 July 2007, consists of 30 km of new construction (9 km alongside the existing line from Milan Lambrate to Pioltello, 11 km alongside the existing line, totally reconstructed, between Pioltello-Limito and Pozzuolo Martesana, a 6 km loop between Pozzuolo Martesana and Cassano d’Adda, and 4 km alongside the existing line Cassano d’Adda and Treviglio) and 7 new stops (Segrate – activated in 2004 - and newly built Pozzuolo Martesana and five restructured stops: Milan Lambrate, Pioltello, Vignate, Melzo and Treviglio).

The 2007 Report, now in its forth edition, was prepared, under the scientific supervision of Roberto Zucchetti, by Maria Pia Marini and Elena Bussolati of Unioncamere and by Gabriele Grea, Alberto Milotti and Micaela Pastanella of Clas Group.
The infrastructure of interest in the new province of Monza-Brianza is still included in the territory of Milan.
In depth:
http://www.trail.unioncamerelombardia.it
Invest in Milan - Via Camperio,1 - 20123 Milan - Italy - Tel +39 02 85 15 53 92 - info@investinmilan.com
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