A car fire broke out shortly before 4pm on Thursday, July 16, at the La Turbie toll booth on the A8 motorway, in the lanes heading toward Italy. Perched on the hillside directly above Monaco, the toll sits along one of the main routes linking the Principality to the wider Côte d’Azur motorway network, and the cause of the fire remains undetermined.
The timing compounded the disruption, with the blaze breaking out just as the afternoon rush hour was getting underway. All toll lanes were closed except for the two furthest to the left, leaving traffic backed up for roughly three kilometres in the direction of Italy.
The incident adds to what is typically one of the busiest stretches of the year for roads around Monaco, as the summer season brings a steady rise in traffic along the A8 and surrounding routes.
For anyone travelling to or from the Principality in the coming weeks, allowing extra time on the road is likely to be a sensible precaution as the region moves further into peak summer travel.
Image courtesy of Facebook – Tib Dan