A truck catches fire on the AP-7 during the Sant Joan bridge exit operation.
Traffic jams are also concentrated at the entrances to Barcelona and the Costa Brava.
BarcelonaCatalonia faces the first phase of the operation to exit the Sant Joan bridge this Friday afternoon. The Catalan Traffic Service predicts that 470,000 vehicles will leave the metropolitan area and that the return will affect 260,000 more. At this time of the afternoon, the first queues are already being recorded, especially on the AP-7 and at the entrances to Barcelona.
In fact, the Mediterranean motorway had a lane closed northbound near Santa Perpetua de Mogoda due to a burning truck, which the fire brigade has already extinguished. A damaged truck, which has already been removed, also caused queues in Mont-roig del Camp. The road has seen accumulated traffic jams for up to 30 kilometers, and the situation has now improved. However, it is still complicated in Montmeló. You can follow the traffic evolution live at this link.
From 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM, 105,600 vehicles left the Barcelona metropolitan area, according to Trànsit. This figure represents 22.5% of the total 470,000 vehicles expected in this exit operation (as of Saturday morning).
There are other roads that are accumulating traffic jams, such as the C-32 between Premià de Mar and Vilassar de Dalt heading towards Girona. These traffic jams are concentrated in the Llagostera area.
To manage this flow, a special mobility system has been designed with additional lanes on the AP-7, restrictions for trucks, online radars, and road inspection flights. At the same time, an intensive drug and alcohol testing campaign has been reported, in collaboration with local police. These tests will be random and will be carried out at different times of the day.