Anas warns of “black badge” weekend as over 26 million vehicles travel Italian roads

The Italian road operator Anas expects more than 26 million vehicle trips on its highways and state roads between Friday afternoon and Sunday, marking the second major summer travel surge. The peak of the weekend will be a “black badge” (maximum traffic restriction) on Saturday morning, with a “red badge” applied during the afternoons of Friday, Saturday and Sunday for returning traffic.

To ease the flow, Anas is suspending or closing 1 175 construction sites – about 83 % of all active sites – and has deployed roughly 2 500 staff members, including technical crews and operators in regional control rooms. Heavy‑vehicle bans are in force on the most congested periods. CEO Claudio Andrea Gemme urges motorists to plan journeys carefully, check vehicle condition, weather forecasts and traffic updates, and to observe speed limits, keep safe distances and avoid distractions.

The advisory covers the main tourist corridors such as the A2 Autostrada del Mediterraneo, the coastal SS 106 Jonica and SS 18 Tirrena, the Sicilian A19 and A29, the Pontina (SS 148) in Lazio, the E45 route across central Italy, the SS 1 Aurelia, the SS 16 Adriatica, as well as northern arteries like SS 36 to Lake Como and the RA13/RA14 connectors in Friuli‑Venezia Giulia.