2+1 Roads: The Government's strategy to reduce road mortality

Road accidents have soared during the first months of 2025, with 47 fatalities just ahead of the mass travel expected during the Easter holidays. A significant portion of the 47 fatalities on the Catalan road network were motorcyclists killed in head-on collisions with cars crossing into the oncoming lane. Given the challenging context and an accident rate that, although reduced in recent years, remains unacceptably high, the Catalan government has approved the 2+1 Roads program. This initiative aims to transform the single-lane roads in each direction of the Catalan road network (1+1) into three-lane roads (2+1). It also proposes the construction of physical elements separating the two directions of traffic using concrete median strips, bump-outs, or central zebra crossings with rough stripes to improve road safety and reduce mortality by between 80% and 100% on the targeted sections.

This program has been allocated a budget of €666 million until 2030 and will involve the transformation of 425 kilometers of conventional roads that carry heavy traffic, carrying more than 5,000 vehicles per day. These roads are the site of a high number of head-on collisions, the most harmful for drivers, and which extend into motorways or dual carriageways. The Government thus aims to continue a road safety policy that it has already implemented on several sections of the C-55, C-16, and C-58 highways, with satisfactory results: it estimates that it has led to a 100% reduction in fatal head-on collisions and a 50% reduction in serious or very serious accidents.

2+1 sections are road sections where the center lane alternates direction to facilitate and create safe spaces for overtaking through the use of physical dividers. This type of road allows for increased traffic flow and a real reduction in fatalities from head-on collisions between vehicles by making it impossible to overtake inappropriately or invade oncoming lanes due to loss of control or driver inattention.

The government agreement will allow this program to be implemented in two distinct phases. The first phase will be implemented between 2025 and 2027, and the second phase will be implemented between 2028 and 2030, thus covering 7% of the Catalan road network. This will lead to a 20% reduction in fatal accidents, according to data from the Catalan Traffic Service.

The 2+1 Roads program has already completed the 8.5-kilometer section of the Banyoles bypass of the C-66 and a 21.4-kilometer section of the C-15 between the towns of Vilafranca and Cabrera d'Anoia, while the 4.5-kilometer section of the C-35 between the towns is expected to be completed in 2025. By 2030, at the end of the program, the government hopes to have improved several sections of some of the country's main roads, such as the C-12 between Tortosa and Lleida; the C-14 around Montblanc and in La Noguera; the C-31, C-63, and C-65 in the Girona and Empordà regions; and the C-55 between Bages and Baix Llobregat, among others.

More soundtracks to avoid distractions

The 2+1 Roads program also includes a second line of action, with a budget of €2.5 million, consisting of the installation of more than 700 kilometers of BSL-type central rumble strips. These rumble strips, placed longitudinally along the road axis, are intended to warn of a possible encroachment into the oncoming lane by means of a noise and vibration that alert the person behind the wheel or handlebars of the vehicle. This action will be carried out throughout 2025 and will continue into 2026.