SS16bis

This is a view of SS16bis, or State Road 16 bis, just south of the exit for Molfetta. "Bis" is a Latin term used in Italian in a wide variety of situations. Its general meaning is something like "again," but it is used to ask for second helpings at the table; to indicate that something is happening for the second time; or, to avoid using the unlucky number 17 hotels may number their rooms 16, 16bis, 18...

This road runs north-south along the Adriatic coast. It was built in 1990 to accomodate the traffic expected for the FIFA World Cup. Some games were played in Bari and previous to 1990 the only way to get to Bari was along the old coastal road SS16. This is a narrow two-lane highway that passes through all the little towns along the coast, obliging you to stop at all the traffic lights, let children cross the street, wait for delivery trucks to finish delivering...very slow, as you can imagine.

So, thanks to soccer, Apulia was remembered by Italy and got a bit of needed infrastructure. Since the new road runs parallel to the old road, they didn't bother thinking up a new name or number, but called it SS16bis.