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Residents of Orihuela Costa are once again rallying in frustration over the crumbling state of their roads.
After years of neglect and mounting damage, the community is taking matters into their own hands—quite literally.
Faced with a lack of action from Orihuela Town Hall, nearly 100 residents from almost all of the coastal area’s 40 neighbourhoods have collaborated to document the alarming spread of potholes across the region.
Their efforts have culminated in the creation of an interactive map, which identifies over 500 potholes in need of urgent repair, with 170 flagged as especially dangerous.
The map spans 14 coastal zones and nearly 700 streets and avenues, offering a stark visual representation of a problem that, residents say, is growing worse by the day.
The neighbourhood group Unidos por la Costa has led the initiative, calling on local authorities to issue an emergency contract to begin repairs immediately.
“The state of these roads poses a serious risk to people and property,” they warn in a formal appeal to the council, stressing that the level of deterioration could soon lead to significant liability for the local government.
The damage isn’t just theoretical. Over recent years, drivers have faced a constant barrage of flat tires, bent rims, and undercarriage damage, all linked to the poor condition of the roads. Some streets, residents say, have become extremely dangerous to navigate.
One of the worst-hit is Calle Pavo Real, described by locals as “looking like a war zone.” This is not just any road—it serves as the main access route to the only secondary school in Orihuela Costa. Each day, hundreds of vehicles and school buses carry more than 1,000 students along it’s pockmarked path.
Another heavily criticised route, the Villamartín Road, is one of the area’s busiest and a frequent site of accidents. Both roads, say residents, are in desperate need of full resurfacing.
The deterioration has not occurred overnight. Instead, it’s the result of what residents are calling “a perfect storm”—a failed maintenance contract, legal disputes between officials and contractors, and a lack of basic materials like asphalt provided by the council. All of this has led to the complete suspension of road maintenance services since early February.
In a letter to Mayor Pepe Vegara, Unidos por la Costa accuse him of failing to represent the coastal community. “He has never truly acted as mayor for the coast,” the letter reads. The group is now demanding an emergency contract to repair the most dangerous areas ahead of the busy Easter period. Without swift action, they warn, the town could face a wave of damage claims from residents and visitors alike.
What has deepened the frustration is the lack of transparency from the council. Although the local government claims to have launched four public tenders with an expected investment of around €2.3 million this year, residents argue that little progress is being made and that no clear timeline has been provided.
Repeated requests for technical reports—documents that would clarify how and where the council plans to carry out repairs—have gone unanswered. Unidos por la Costa has submitted four formal requests through the electronic office and raised the issue in multiple council meetings and coastal district assemblies.
Despite a February promise from Councillor Manuel Mestre that the reports would be ready “by tomorrow,” they have yet to materialize.
The frustration among residents is palpable. One long-delayed resurfacing project in the Torrezenia area was approved as far back as 2019 as part of the participatory budget.
Now, almost six years later, that project still remains unfinished. In some neighbourhoods, the delays have pushed residents to take extreme measures. Tired of waiting, a group recently patched some of the worst potholes themselves to prevent further vehicle damage and make roads passable again.
But potholes are just one symptom of broader neglect. The community also faces faded road markings, broken or missing signage, and stalled infrastructure projects.
Chief among these is the long-promised pedestrian bridge over the AP-7 in Lomas de Cabo Roig, which remains unbuilt, more than ten years after it was first promised.
Other concerns include dangerous intersections along the Campo de Cartagena canal service road, growing congestion on the N-332, and the refusal to remove tolls on the AP-7 as it passes through Torrevieja and Orihuela.
The long-overdue expansion of the CV-95, the main link between the coast and the city of Orihuela, also remains in limbo.
For many residents, these ongoing issues point to a pattern of neglect that extends beyond road maintenance. They’re now asking whether a higher-level authority should step in to take control from a council they view as mismanaging the entire coastal district.
Shortly after Unidos por la Costa shared the interactive pothole map on social media, Councillor Mestre responded online: “I share your concern about the state of the roads in Orihuela Costa. To address this problem, a €1 million asphalt project for Orihuela Costa has already been put out to tender. We have also opened another emergency project for patching. I hope that in a few months we will have addressed the problem that worries us so much.”
But for residents living with daily hazards, delays and promises no longer inspire confidence. They say they’ve heard it all before—and now, they’re demanding action.
Interactive Map of Potholes on Orihuela Costa: Follow this link
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