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Free motorway tolls on Alicante ring road extended until February
The Mediterranean Corridor linking Andalucía, Murcia and Alicante is also progressing well
In a move that's expected to bring relief to commuters and boost the local economy, the Ministry of Transport has announced that the free use of the AP-7 ring road around Alicante will be extended until February 15, 2025.
The decision was made after analysing the “benefits” of lifting the expensive toll, which was initially scrapped in July.
The ring-road forms part of Spain’s AP-7 motorway, a road which runs from Alicante, down along the coast of Murcia and into Andalucía. According to the latest figures, scrapping the toll has resulted in a 10-15% increase in traffic on the road, while also reducing congestion on the A-70 motorway, which was the main focus.
The trial was expected to end on October 15, but has now been extended.
Puente explained that the aim of the measure was to relieve traffic on the A-70 motorway and to evaluate the results. He also noted that the AP-7 motorway had been rescued by the State and was managed by a state-owned public company, with a “low” volume of travellers and “small income” of between 2 and 3 million euros a year.
But the benefits of free use in terms of safety outweigh the economic aspect, Puente said.
In addition to the extension of the free toll, Puente also announced progress on the Mediterranean Corridor, a major rail project that aims to improve mobility and sustainability throughout southern Spain.
“Today, 100% of the Mediterranean Corridor is in motion. All the pending sections are at some stage of processing or being executed. If there has been a Government that has unequivocally demonstrated its commitment to the Mediterranean Corridor, it has been this one. If anyone has worked to achieve sustainable and fully interoperable mobility and greater competitiveness for companies in the Mediterranean arc and its area of influence, it has been this Administration,” said the minister.
For Puente, the Mediterranean Corridor “is a national project” since it will not only be the connecting axis between Andalucía, Murcia, Valencia and Catalonia, but it will also be the great multimodal artery that will link Algeciras with Ukraine and with the rest of the trans-European networks.
The decision to extend the free toll has been welcomed by local politicians, including Alejandro Soler, the general secretary of the PSPV-PSOE of the province of Alicante.
“The commitment to improving infrastructure and providing it with resources in the province of Alicante is being demonstrated by actions. Today's news demonstrates the commitment of the Government of Spain to modernise the economic and social model of the province of Alicante,” he said.
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