Easter Exit Operation: Traffic opens two more lanes on the AP-7

BarcelonaThe AP-7 will be the busiest highway during Easter. This is the forecast of the Catalan Traffic Service (SCT), which announced on Wednesday morning that it will open two additional lanes starting tomorrow, coinciding with the holiday's outbound journey. They will also be opened for the return journey. In addition to the extra lanes, Trànsit will also restrict heavy vehicle traffic to make the motorway smoother and less dangerous. In total, more than one million journeys are expected: 560,000 outbound journeys from the Barcelona metropolitan area (66% on Thursday and 33% on Friday) and a return journey of 580,000 vehicles.

The director general of the SCT (Spanish Police), Ramon Lamiel, and the head of the General Mobility Commissariat of the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan Police), Mònica Luis, have given details of the operation that begins this Thursday and have explained that this year they do not foresee the "classic departures" spread over different days, but rather they believe that mobility will be concentrated. Thus, the exit operation will begin at 8:00 on Thursday and will end on Friday at 15:00, with a peak intensity expected on Thursday at 13:00. The return operation will run from Sunday at 12:00 until midnight on Monday.

Different lanes

The two additional lanes on the AP-7 will open on Thursday between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. They will be located between Montornès del Vallès and Sils (53 km, direct to Girona and the Costa Brava) and between Martorell and Banyeres del Penedès (43 km, direct to Tarragona). An additional exit lane will also be installed on this second section on Friday. These lanes, which will be mobile according to needs, will allow traffic to flow smoothly, and Lamiel assured that they will be "playing" with them, as well as with the variable speed, to avoid congestion on the main roads.

During the return operation, Trànsit will open the "classic" additional lanes on the AP-7, between Vilafranca and Molins de Rei (direct to Barcelona) and between Sant Celoni, Llinars del Vallès, and Montornès. Another road will also be opened on the C-32 between Sant Andreu de Llavaneres and Montgat. Trucks will not be allowed to circulate on this road on Thursday between 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., nor during the same time slot on Sunday, nor on Friday or Easter Monday between 10:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., for "safety" reasons.

The director of the SCT (Spanish Transport Ministry) has emphasized that the special Easter traffic operation is "a major operation, one of the most important and notable of the year," along with other important dates such as Sant Joan and La Mercè. This year's goal, Lamiel said, is to repeat last year's figure of zero fatalities on Catalan roads. Therefore, he has called for "responsible driving" and urged extra caution for the most vulnerable groups, such as cyclists and motorcyclists. Lamiel acknowledged that the area of ​​greatest concern is the Barcelona district, which has a higher accident rate than in previous years. Furthermore, mobility is expected to double: northward, toward mountainous areas, and toward the coast, both north and south.

Radars, helicopters, and plainclothes officers

As control measures, Lamiel has stated that a strategy based on radars and air traffic control will be deployed, with the help of three helicopters that will transmit information in real time, paying special attention to the AP-7, but also to other important roads such as the C-17, the C-16 and the C-55.

Commissioner Mònica Luis added that the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan Police) plan to deploy 1,670 officers from the Traffic and Citizen Security Unit, who will pay special attention to secondary roads and areas with the highest traffic or accident rates. She also detailed that a total of 1,228 checkpoints will be carried out throughout the country, which will primarily take into account distractions, speed, alcohol and drug consumption and passive safety elements, such as seatbelt use.

"We want safe driving, paying maximum attention to the roads, and therefore, we call for responsibility," the commissioner recalled, adding that users will see more police officers on the streets, because the logoed patrols will be reinforced, but there will also be plainclothes patrols, to detect.