Work speeds up on the AP-7 junction on the Costa del Sol Spain

THE roadworks on the toll-free section of the AP-7 at Km 222 which required the remodelling of the Benalmadena East link are still going on but at a much faster rate than originally expected.

When first planned, it appeared likely that it would take up to 57 months when the concept was agreed with the then Partido Popular national government but since then mayor Victor Navas made an appeal to the PSOE Minister of Public Works, José Luis Ábalos, and the work was re-estimated at being completed within 24 months.

There will now be some further diversions in the area of the work with the temporary loss of one lane towards Malaga and the reduction in width of other lanes as the work continues to accelerate.

According to the mayor, traffic jams which had been a bane of the area had more or less disappeared by May 2019 with the opening of provisional access lanes and now, it is even possible that all of the work will be completed prior to the target date of October 2020.

Currently an average of 15,000 vehicles use the junction each day and that is based on the winter population of estimate of 70,000 people but when summer comes, this normally rises to 200,000 which considerably increases the amount of traffic generally which is why the work needed to be undertaken and the sooner it is completed, the better it will be for all.