The Autovía A-23 is a motorway in Aragon and the Valencian Community, in Spain.
A-23 is an upgrade of the N-330 and N-234. As of June 2020, it starts in the province of Huesca then runs south to Zaragoza. Then, it follows the Jiloca River south to Teruel, through the Sierra d'Espadà, to the coast at Sagunt. Plans call for the freeway to reach the French border at Somport where a 8.6-km two-lane cross-border tunnel has been in operation since 2003. The freeway is also known as Autovía Valencia-Francia or Autovía Sagunto-Somport.
Once fully complete, it will serve as an important connection between Valencia, Aragon, the Basque region, and France, through the Somport tunnel. The highway's nickname is "spine of Aragon" since it runs along a north-south axis through the region.
The A-23 runs through the corridors of the N-234, between Sagunto and Retascón and the N-330 between Retascón and Jaca. The road is new and independent of national roads with two exceptions, one being from Viver (Ragudo slopes), and the other between Nueno and Monrepós, about south of Somport using parts of the N-330 to cross the difficult terrain of the Pre-Pyrenees mountains. This was the most expensive portion of the highway to build.
Name The highway's name is derived, like almost all Spanish "national roads" turned into highways, from the first two figures of the old name (N- 23 4> A- 23 ). The letter A is used for highways belonging to the Ministry of Development.
The A-23 also has European nomenclature, as part of the European route E07, which connects Pau, France with Zaragoza, Spain.
In the French section, the route is called RN134, which connects Pau to Oloron-Sainte-Marie and Spain.
History A-23 is a new highway, which follows the same route of two national roads, the N-234 between Sagunto and Daroca - Retascón, and the N-330 between Retascón and Jaca. Construction began in 1999 from the city of Sagunto and currently sections are still under construction in the north of the province of Huesca.
The section stretching from Calamocha to Romans of the A-23 is 27.8 kilometers long, and cost 98.7 million euros.
The motorway has been completed between Teruel, Zaragoza and Huesca, meaning that all three provincial capitals in Aragon are connected. As of late 2019 the A-23 runs continuously as far as Lanave near Sabiñánigo, but work on some sections north of this point still remains unfinished, as plans to link to Jaca and eventually the French border are yet to be completed. The route also links from Zaragoza to the Cantabrian by the A-68, to northern Navarre, Pamplona and the Basque Country by the A-21 (also unfinished) and to Lleida by the A-22 which is close to completion.
Issues The stretch between Zaragoza and Huesca presents problems for light trucks with strong wind gusts, mainly cierzo.
In the Teruel section there were a number of post-construction problems, such as slopes detachment, with constant danger for the traffic within a few months of being opened, and in 2009 resurfacing work was needed.
On July 22, 2010, a funding cut by the Spanish Ministry of Development forced two sections under construction between Nueno and Jaca, and a third between Jaca and Santa Cilia de Jaca, to be delayed (see diagram sections) for between one and four years. Work has subsequently resumed.
Current path The highway currently runs from the town of Sagunto, near Valencia, to the village of Lanave, north of Huesca. Between Lanave and Sabiñánigo new sections are expected to open in 2026. The highway also connects the northern edge of Sabiñánigo to the outskirts of Jaca and by the end of 2026 should be open in full from Sagunto to the edge of Jaca.
At this time there is no active plan for further construction of the 19 km from North Jaca to the Somport tunnel. Instead, the highway will only consist of road improvements and detours through local towns. Currently, the time it takes to go from Sagunto to Somport is ~ 4 hours and 30 minutes.
Sections Designation Sections State (as of October 2025) Kilometres Sagunto-Soneja In service (1999) 16.9 Soneja-Segorbe In service (1999) 9.5 Variante de Segorbe In service (1999) 3,6 Segorbe-Río Palancia In service (2005) 6.6 Río Palancia-Viver In service (2006) 10.2 Viver-Barracas In service (2006) 14.2 Barracas-Sarrión In service (2006) 18.2 Sarrión- Escandón In service (2005) 20.6 Escandón -Teruel In service (2005) 16.6 Teruel-Santa Eulalia del Campo In service (2005) 26.8 Santa Eulalia del Campo-Monreal del Campo In service (2001) 21.9 Monreal del Campo-Calamocha In service (2001) 14.7 Calamocha- Romanos In service (2008) 27.8 Romanos-Mainar In service (2007) 11.8 Mainar-Paniza In service (2007) 13 Paniza-Torrubia (Muel) In service (2007) 16.8 Torrubia (Muel)-María de Huerva In service (2006) 13.1 María de Huerva-Zaragoza Sur In service (2005) 11.6 Zaragoza Sur-Zaragoza Este In service (2008) 14.2 Zaragoza Este-Villanueva de Gállego In service (1991) 9.5 Villanueva de Gállego-Zuera In service (1998) 17 Zuera-Almudévar In service (1998) 22 Almudévar-Huesca In service (1997) 21.7 Huesca-Nueno In service (2000) 12.3 Nueno-Congosto de Isuela In service (2014) 5 Congosto de Isuela-Arguis In service (2019) 3.3 Arguis-Alto de Monrepós In service (2014) 3.2 Alto de Monrepós-Caldearenas In service (2019) 4.1 Caldearenas-Lanave In service (2018) 12 Lanave-Embalse de Jabarrella Under Construction, opening 2026 6.9 Embalse de Jabarrella-Sabiñánigo Sur Under Construction, opening 2026 2.2 Sabiñánigo Sur-Sabiñánigo Este In service (2014) 3 Sabiñánigo Este-Sabiñánigo Oeste Under Construction, opening 2026 6.9 Sabiñánigo Oeste-Jaca Este In service (2012) 9.6 Variante de Jaca (Jaca Este-Jaca NorteIncluye también el tramo Jaca Norte-Jaca Oeste, que formará parte de la A-21) Project planned (funding needed) 8.04 Jaca Oeste-Somport Planning underway 19 Túnel de Somport In service (2003) 8.608
Route
Sagunto - Zaragoza
Speed Scheme Exit Towards Zaragoza (ascending) Towards Sagunto (descending) Highway Notes Start ofAutovía Mudéjar End ofAutovía Mudéjar 3 PetrésCastellón - Valencia PetrésCastellón - Valencia 5 Gilet Gilet 7 Albalat dels TarongersEstivella - Segart Albalat dels TarongersEstivella - Segart Rest area 14 Serra - Torres-TorresAlfara d'Algímia - Algímia d'Alfara Serra - Torres-TorresAlfara de Algimia - Algimia de Alfara 18 CastellónAlgar de Palancia - Vall d'Uixó CastellónAlgar de Palancia - Vall d'Uixó 21 - 22 Sot de Ferrer Sot de Ferrer 24 Soneja Soneja 26 Villatorgas Villatorgas 27 Geldo - Segorbe Geldo - Segorbe 31 Altura - Segorbe Altura - Segorbe 33 Navajas Navajas 37 Jérica (sur) 42 Viver - JéricaCaudiel Viver - JéricaCaudiel 47 Viver Viver 57 Barracas - Puerto del Ragudo Barracas - Puerto del Ragudo 59 Barracas Barracas 63 San Agustin San Agustín 71 OlbaAlbentosa - Venta del Aire OlbaAlbentosa - Venta del Aire 73 Rubielos de Mora - Aramón ValdelinaresAlbentosa Rubielos de Mora - Aramón ValdelinaresAlbentosa 76 Mora de Rubielos - Aramón ValdelinaresManzanera Mora de Rubielos - Aramón ValdelinaresManzanera 78 Sarrión Sarrión 89 Puebla de ValverdeService road Puebla de ValverdeService road 92 Puebla de V. - Mora de R. - ValdelinaresC. de la Sierra - Aramón Javalambre Puebla de V. - Mora de R. - ValdelinaresC. de la Sierra - Aramón Javalambre Puerto de Escandón - 1223 meters Puerto de Escandón - 1223 meters 100 Formiche Formiche 105 Teruel SurCuenca Teruel SurCuenca 116 Teruel Centro - AlcañízCedrillas - Cantavieja Teruel Centro - AlcañízCedrillas - Cantavieja 117 CuencaTeruel Norte - P. La Paz - Alcañíz CuencaTeruel Norte - P. la Paz - Alcañíz 124 CaudéAlbarracínAeropuerto CaudéAlbarracínAeropuerto 131 CellaCeladas CellaCeladas 137 Villarquemado Villarquemado 144 Santa Eulalia del CampoAlfambra Santa Eulalia del CampoAlfambra 150 Torrelacárcel - AguatónTorremocha de Jiloca Torrelacárcel - AguatónTorremocha de Jiloca 160 Villafranca del CampoSingra Villafranca del CampoSingra 165 Monreal del CampoMadrid - Alcolea del Pinar Monreal del CampoMadrid - Alcolea del Pinar 176 CaminrealMontalbán - Alcañíz CaminrealMontalbán - Alcañíz 180 Calamocha - Daroca 181 Calamocha (Sur)Tornos - Bello 185 Navarrete-CalamochaDarocaSoria Navarrete-CalamochaDarocaSoria 202 Ferreruela de HuervaBáguenaBurbáguena Ferreruela de HuervaBáguenaBurbáguena 206 LechónAnento LechónAnento 210 Daroca - Nombrevilla - RomanosCalatayud Daroca - Nombrevilla - RomanosCalatayud 215 Villarreal de Huerva - VilladozMainar Villarreal de Huerva - VilladozMainar Puerto de Paniza - 925 meters Puerto de Paniza - 925 meters 232 La Almunia de Doña GodinaCariñena Sur - Paniza La Almunia de Doña GodinaCariñena Sur - Paniza 240 Cariñena Norte Cariñena Norte 245 LongaresAlfamén LongaresAlfamén 255 MuelÉpila MuelÉpila 262 Botorrita Botorrita 268 CadreteMaría de Huerva CadreteMaría de Huerva 274 Cuarte de Huerva Cuarte de Huerva 276 Alcañiz - Castellón Madrid - Barcelona Logroño - Pamplona Huesca EndAutovía Mudéjar Continuation ofAutovía Mudéjar
Zaragoza North - Nueno
Speed Scheme Exit Towards Nueno (ascending) Towards Zaragoza (descending) Highway Notes Start of Autovía Mudéjar End ofAutovía Mudéjar 292 Alcañiz - Castellón Madrid - Barcelona Logroño - Pamplona 296 San Juan de MozarrifarPolígono "Ciudad del Transporte" 298 Zaragoza 299 Polígono "San Miguel" 301 Villanueva de Gállego SurPolígono industrial 304 Villanueva de Gállego NorteCastejón de Valdejasa 314 Zuera Sur 316 Zuera Ejea de los Caballeros 318 Zuera NorteSan Mateo de Gállego 321 OntinarGurreaVía de servicio 328 El TempleVía de servicio 333 GurreaSan JorgeVía de servicio 341 AlmudévarTardientaAlcalá de Gurrea 347 Vía de Servicio 356 Cuarte 357 Huesca SurCuarte Huesca Sur 360 Huesca CentroPamplona 362 Barbastro - Lérida 364 YéquedaVía de Servicio Huesca NorteYéquedaVía de Servicio 368 IgriésVía de Servicio 372 ArascuésNuenoVía de Servicio 375 NuenoSabayés Túnel de NuenoL. 494 m End ofAutovía Mudéjar Start ofAutovía Mudéjar
Nueno - Jaca-Canfranc
Via Speed Scheme Exit Towards Canfranc (ascending) Towards Nueno (descending) Highway Notes Puerto de Monrepós - 1280 metrosPlan for widening pending Túneles de MonrepósL. 1.484 m Tunnels Plan for widening pending 403 Sabiñánigo Sur Sabiñánigo Sur 406 Sabiñánigo Este Yebra de Basa Fiscal Sabiñánigo Este Yebra de Basa Fiscal Plan for widening pending 417 Espuéndolas Martillué Service road Golf Badaguás Espuéndolas Martillué Service road 424 Jaca Oeste PamplonaGolf Badaguás Jaca Oeste Pamplona
References