Southern Costa Blanca’s ‘Empty’ Toll Road is Still Charging During National Crisis

THE largest political party on Orihuela Council has said that it is “nonsense” that toll booths are still operating on the AP-7 in the Vega Baja region during the Covid-19 crisis. 

Partido Popular spokesman, Rafael Almagro, said that the traditionally-low user numbers for the road had fallen still further, with vital carriers still having to pay up.

“Due to the State of Alarm, essential transportation of food and supplies for the local community is just about the only traffic using the AP-7, but they are being penalised for their important service,” Almagro added. 

He also attacked the Madrid coalition government for not suspending the toll charges.

The tolls are levied at two booths at Los Montesinos and La Zenia, and along with the Alicante ring road, they are the only remaining road pay points throughout the whole of the Valencian region.

Tolls were scrapped on the AP-7 from Alicante northwards through to Tarragona at the start of the year, but south of Alicante, the road is under contract to a different company who have the rights to charge until 2048.

Almagro said that his local party would strongly pursue a campaign to remove the tolls permanently once the crisis has passed, as a way of boosting the local economy.

The region’s mayors have frequently joined forces to call for the AP-7 to become toll-free, especially to reduce major traffic jams on the coastal N-332 road during the peak summer season.