The complete reopening of the affected AP-7 section is possible after the emergency stabilization work on the embankment, carried out by the Ministry of Transport, has concluded. This work has restored road safety conditions both on the motorway structure and in the surrounding area, according to the SCT. The closure occurred the day after the fatal railway accident on January 20, which resulted in the death of a trainee train driver.
Parallel to the reopening, the southbound C-32 motorway will become a toll road again starting midnight Monday to Tuesday, having been free of charge during the AP-7 closure. Ramon Lamiel, Director of the SCT, justified the 3 AM reopening time for the AP-7 as being an "off-peak hour" suitable for managing the significant traffic volume.
“"Goods traffic found a distribution route through the C-32 despite the inconvenience of the closure."
Lamiel stressed that a three-lane closure on a major artery like the AP-7 (with a capacity of 5,200 vehicles per hour) was "forceful," but he positively assessed that the implemented measures, including the temporary toll removal on the C-32, "have worked." Global traffic on the C-32 doubled, and truck traffic increased by 200%.
In a context of complex mobility, Lamiel highlighted that road accident fatalities in Catalonia have decreased in these first weeks of the year, with seven victims compared to fourteen during the same period last year. He also reiterated that the goal remains zero fatalities and announced the acquisition of six new radar vans to reinforce speed control on the AP-7.
