According to the Torrevieja mayor, Jose Manuel Dolon, the situation faced by drivers as they attempt to navigate the section of the N332 between Punta Prima and La Mata during the summer months is unacceptable.
Not only do the unacceptable levels of congestion cause immeasurable damage to the local economy but it is frustrating and dangerous and for many years now there has been an urgent need for action.
Speaking at a press conference last week Dolon said that he has once again written to the Provincial Traffic Management Centre in Valencia and the Directorate General in Madrid stating that the City has repeatedly approached the Ministry of Development and the Directorate General of Highways, pleading for “urgent action to be taken by the National authorities regarding the situation of the N-332 and the untenable state of affairs that occur year after year, with endless delays and traffic jams and all the dangers that they entail.”
He added that “I am not satisfied” with this situation and will continue to seek support to rectify a problem that is “dangerous and exasperating” for drivers and causes a great deal of “harm” to the economy of the city.
“We have been now asking for the improvements to the road for over a decade, just eight kilometres of roadway which require converting into dual carriageway and which will cost in the region of twenty million euros. The single carriageway along the stretch currently accommodates over 30,000 vehicles a day and the situation can only get much worse before it gets better.
The mayor said that he couldn’t understand why it was taking so long to reach a decision and to come up with the necessary funding and plans. “We are talking about a stretch of road that is entirely within the boundaries of the city of Torrevieja, so it is not as though there are any other local authorities that need to be involved.”
However Alicante Deputy Joaquín Albaladejo, previously a member of the PP administration in Torrevieja, was quick to defend the former administration blaming the Provincial government of “socialist” Ximo Puig and “Catalan” Monica Oltra for dragging their feet and causing the delay of the new carriageways.
He said that improvements to the N-332 passing through Torrevieja have been planned for almost a decade, for which the Ministry of Development has budgeted at nearly 17 million euros. The tender documentation will shortly be prepared and the optimistic period for completion of the work is 2019.
