A report by the Local Police in Orihuela has revealed that 31 traffic accidents over a 6-month period in Orihuela Costa ocurred as a result of poor road conditions. The data, collected by the Traffic Judicial Police Unit from January to June, points to potholes as the primary cause, damaging vehicle tires and, in one case, causing an electric scooter crash.
Only one of the 31 incidents involved injuries. This occurred when two people riding an electric scooter fell after hitting a pothole on Calle Acuario. The rest involved damage to tires caused by potholes and deteriorated road surfaces.
The area with the highest number of incidents was the Villamartín – Los Dolses road, with five accidents, followed by Cabo Creus in Lomas de Cabo Roig with four. Other affected streets include Piscis, Capricornio, and Virgo in La Florida; California; Carretera de Villamartín; R. Wagner; and Orquídeas in Playa Flamenca.
Additional incidents were also reported in Estaca, Mariano Torregrosa, Cielo (Aguamarina), Carretera San Miguel de Salinas, Pebrella, and Villamartín.
The report was sent to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in response to an investigation triggered by a complaint from the neighbourhood association Unidos por la Costa. The complaint alleged a potential violation of Article 385 of the Spanish Penal Code, which covers road safety offenses stemming from failure to maintain public infrastructure, thus endangering public safety.
The complainants argued that for years, municipal road maintenance in Districts 10 and 11 (coastal areas of Orihuela) had been virtually non-existent, leading to multiple accidents and both material and personal damage.
Although there has been a road maintenance contract in place over the past five years, which also covered signage, Unidos por la Costa stated that it was “clearly deficient due to a complete lack of asphalt,” resulting in no preventive or corrective maintenance.
The association described this neglect as, at best, negligent behaviour by the City Council, the legal owner of the roads, and potentially reckless, possibly indicating deliberate misconduct by municipal authorities.
The group also submitted a study identifying over 160 potholes across 14 zones and estimated that across the nearly 700 streets in Orihuela Costa, more than 500 potholes were still awaiting repair or resurfacing. Multiple communications sent to the mayor’s office and the departments of Coastal Affairs and Infrastructure went unanswered, despite calls for an emergency contract to address the road damage.
However, the Public Prosecutor ultimately closed the case, concluding that the alleged inaction did not constitute a criminal offense. There was no evidence of intent or recklessness, as required by the Penal Code. The case did not address potential administrative or civil liabilities the City Council might face for damages resulting from accidents.
The complaint was filed in April, shortly after road maintenance services lapsed in February when the previous contract expired. A new contract has only just resumed, managed by the municipal company SGM, which also handles waste collection, another service frequently criticized by residents.
Update of Roadworks in Torrezenia
On Tuesday the council finally announced that after more than a decade without any improvements, several streets in Torrezenia have now been resurfaced, fulfilling a commitment made through the 2019 participatory budget.
The work, funded from the 2024 municipal budget at a cost of €60,000, included resurfacing the curve of the San Miguel road, Calle Cañada, and Avenida de Torrevieja, areas that had seriously deteriorated. The project involved milling joints, full resurfacing, and repainting road markings.
Infrastructure Councillor Víctor Valverde said that thanks to the newly approved budget, the city was able to unlock a long-delayed project. “Torrezenia now has the streets it deserves, and we will continue to improve the rest,” he stated.
The contract also allowed the contractor to contribute extra asphalt for repairing other nearby streets.
Still, local reaction was mixed. Some residents complained that only the main avenue (Avenida Torrevieja) and a small street (Calle Cañada) were resurfaced, while the worst streets, Avenida Orihuela and Calle Carlos Torres, as well as peripheral streets like Ciprés and Limonero, were left untouched. Some even alleged that a large part of the allocated budget was diverted to Caspio, a neighbouring area in La Cuerda.
Complicating matters further, some of the streets listed in the original 2019 project couldn’t be repaired because they haven’t been officially handed over to the municipality or are private roads, even though the project had been approved by technical staff six years ago.
The city still needs to award a new €1 million resurfacing contract, though details of which roads will be included remain unknown. Two other projects are set to receive provincial funding through the Plan Planifica: one for Avenida Miguel de Cervantes in Campoamor (project design completed), and another for the San Miguel de Salinas road (still in planning).
