With a train station that closed down in the 70´s, a national road that serves as a bottleneck, a municipal bus service operating on almost antique vehicles, and nowhere to park in the town, despite the increase in road use, Torrevieja has been plagued with transport problems for decades, but the mayor, Eduardo Dolón, has hope that next year will be key to solving these problems.
In an interview this week, Dolón has put the solutions down to the fact that his party, the PP, are now in power in the regional Government, and although himself failed to secure apposition in that team, he is trusting that his colleagues will look favourably on the problems, partly due to the announcement of the extension of the tram network in Elche, and partly because the regional government will be behind presenting a case to the national ministry for the widening of the N-332, a matter Torrevieja itself demonstrated being part of the failure in the first place with necessary reports not being submitted.
The change comes due to the momentum in Elche. The fourth city in the Valencian Community will have an item for its study in next year’s budgets. “The TRAM in Elche will be a reality this term, it is a commitment of the Valencian Government and President Carlos Mazón.” This is what Minister Salomé Pradas said at the end of September.
“Right now, the priority for the Generalitat Valenciana, is the TRAM that has been announced to arrive in Elche,” emphasised Dolón. “And that is great news because that TRAM that can reach Elche may be the one that in the near future can continue thus could reach the entire south of the Valencian Community,” he reasons.
Dolón revealed that he has already held several meetings with President Mazón, Minister Pradas and the Regional Secretary of Infrastructure Vicente Dómine. The study that he plans for next year includes “that it structures the south, which is ultimately Orihuela interior with Orihuela coast.”
He acknowledges that there is still a long way to go because “once you have the study, you will have to commission the execution project and before that the environmental procedures, which will not be easy.” But, he emphasises, ” we are in a legislature in which we could address all of this with the commitment that I am seeing from Carlos Mazón and the entire team.”
The road situation is the other issue that worries Dolón regarding the communications of the most populated city in the Vega Baja. “There is not a road in the entire Spanish State that has a daily vehicle load that exceeds 50,000 vehicles like this one without being doubled or having detour options,” he says about N-332.
“And there is no road either, and these are data that the Government of Spain has, about the burden of accidents and problems that this has,” he adds. The mayor recalls that this is also a critical option because it is the one that communicates with the main regional hospital. “Every day the ambulances cross it and cause the vehicles to be diverted to the sides and with the consequent delay. This situation is extremely serious,” he emphasises.
Solving it will depend on the new Government in Madrid. And he expects that support from the new Consell because “until now the Generalitat Valenciana has not wanted to participate in this joint request before the Government of Spain.” He emphasises that “it will be the first time that I will go with the Government of the Generalitat Valenciana.” From that visit he hopes for a solution. Of course, before that happens, Spain has to have a functioning Government, which is still pending.
