A18 Motorway Works: Messina, Taormina and Catania Transfers

Since 1 October the A18 motorway between Messina and Catania, the road that carries almost every transfer to Taormina, has been operating under a new set of roadwork orders. One carriageway is closed near Messina until late November, and lane closures are authorised along the whole route until the end of March. The motorway remains open, but journey times on it are less predictable than they were a week ago.

What has changed on the A18

According to the orders issued by Autostrade Siciliane, the consortium that operates the motorway, and reported by the Sicilian press on 1 and 6 October, four measures now overlap.

The first is the most visible. Between roughly km 9 and km 12, in the Scaletta Zanclea area south of Messina, the uphill carriageway in the direction of Catania is closed for urgent maintenance in the tunnels. Traffic in both directions shares the opposite carriageway until 28 November.

The second covers the entire motorway, from km 0 to km 76.86, in both directions. From 2 October until 28 March 2027 the operator may close the emergency, driving or overtaking lane in turn, wherever damaged safety barriers are being replaced. The sites move, so the stretch affected on a given day is not known far in advance.

The third concerns the replacement of the roadside SOS system on both the A18 and the A20 Messina to Palermo motorway, with further lane closures until 31 December. The fourth, announced on 6 October, adds lane closures for resurfacing work along the whole motorway, in both directions, from 8 October until 31 December, by day or at night. In the work zones the speed limit is 60 km/h and overtaking is forbidden.

Why now

In mid-September the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport asked the operator to start urgent safety work on the A18 and the A20 by 3 October. Italian press reports listed safety barriers, tunnels and road markings among the points raised, and said that the ministry would otherwise assess whether some sections could stay open to traffic.

The Sicilian Region has since announced funding for the urgent interventions, and the regional councillor for infrastructure, Alessandro Aricò, has stated that no stretch of motorway will be closed. Further work on tunnels closer to Taormina has been reported as possible. The calendar for any such work has not been published in the sources we consulted: verify with the operator before travel.

Who is affected

Messina port to Taormina

This is the route that crosses the two-way section. Cruise guests who disembark in Messina and spend the day in Taormina pass through it in both directions, and the return is the delicate part, because the ship's all-aboard time does not move. Leave Taormina earlier than the distance alone would suggest.

Catania Airport to Taormina

The stretch between Catania and the Taormina exit is not touched by the carriageway closure, which lies further north. It does fall within the moving lane closures authorised until March, so a slower passage is possible on any day. Our page on the Catania Airport to Taormina transfer describes the route in normal conditions; for the time being, treat those timings as a minimum.

Palermo and the north coast

On the A20, moving work sites are authorised between Messina Sud and the Buonfornello junction until 31 December, with the same 60 km/h limit, and a two-way section is in place between km 175 and km 177 until 31 October. This matters mainly for guests travelling between Palermo, Cefalù and Messina or Taormina along the north coast.

How to plan around it

A few adjustments are enough for most itineraries.

Add margin to any journey with a fixed deadline. A flight from Catania Airport after a stay in Taormina, a ship departure from Messina, a ceremony or a restaurant with a strict seating: all of these deserve a more generous departure time until the sites are removed.

Do not count on the coast road as a shortcut. The SS114 runs parallel to the motorway but passes through the centre of every town along the Ionian shore, and when the motorway slows it fills quickly.

Expect changes. Orders of this kind are often extended or amended, and work may also take place at night. The traffic notices published by Autostrade Siciliane are the authoritative source: verify with the operator on the day of travel.

Finally, keep some flexibility in the vehicle arrangement itself. For a day that combines several stops, an hourly chauffeur service allows the timetable to be adjusted while the day is under way, without renegotiating each leg.

Travelling with GIORIZZ

Our chauffeurs know the A18 well and adjust pick-up times to the conditions actually found on the road, not to the timings on a map. GIORIZZ operates its own Mercedes-Benz fleet and its own chauffeurs across Sicily, with English spoken on every service.

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