Sunken cobblestones on the Sant Antoni ring road four months after its opening

BarcelonaIt hasn't even been four months since the first section of the new Sant Antoni ring road opened, and it's already in need of repair. Several spots on the pavement in the area connecting Villarroel Street with Riera Alta—the main traffic entrance from this area to the Raval—are already visible where the cobblestones have sunk or are broken. These damages have once again ignited the residents of one of the city's most controversial thoroughfares, one that seems never to leave the controversy behind.

Municipal sources assure that the municipal infrastructure company Bimsa is already aware of the damage caused by vehicle traffic to the newly opened pavement. They point out that "it is probably a basic execution problem" and that the construction company will be responsible for its repairs. The expectation is that it can be repaired soon, possibly taking advantage of the fact that Villarroel Street will eventually have to be closed to build a service interchange.

Toni Olivella, spokesperson for the Platform for People Affected by the San Antonio Slab, points out that this was predictable because Riera Alta is a street "with intensive use" where many cars and bicycles pass by. Therefore, he believes it would be more appropriate to change the type of pavement than not repair it. Olivella points out that he is currently still in charge of the construction company, but maintains that in a year, "when it happens again," the cost of the repair will have to be borne by the council and, therefore, all residents. "Common sense should prevail over utopian ideas, no matter how beautiful they may seem," he adds, and advocates resurfacing this section if the natural stone paving stones pose a hazard that could cause accidents or cause someone to trip over them.

On the other hand, Míriam M. considers resurfacing to be "madness." She is a local resident and a member of the Pro-Pacification Platform of the Ronda de San Antonio, and emphasizes that in an area as dense as the Raval, asphalt contributes to the heat island effect that makes many summer nights unbreathable. Therefore, although she regrets that they have been hearing the noise of the construction work all day for months and that she will now have to hear it again, she prefers that the paving stones be repaired and that the use of natural stone continues. She points out that the problem has been that not enough layers of the material that was supposed to hold the paving stones to the ground have been laid, and that the passage of heavy vehicles has quickly caused them to pop out.

The Pi i Margall precedent

The rapid deterioration of the pavement on Sant Antoni's new ring road is reminiscent of another recent case. During the traffic calming process in Pi i Margall, residents also reported the first broken cobblestones appearing very early on. A year had passed since the street's opening when the first complaints arose because the traffic had caused some parts of the pavement to break, causing small potholes along the road.

In fact, the Pi i Margall example had served the current municipal government to defend its decision to pave part of Sant Antoni's new ring road: the lane that turns from Villarroel to reach Comte Urgell Street, which was criticized both for its use of asphalt and for the collapsing.

The natural stone paving will be put to the test again when the first side of the new Rambla is opened. In that case, the council did maintain its commitment to this type of paving. In the coming months, when work begins on the Llobregat corner of the promenade, the first cars—and in this case, some buses as well—will begin to drive uphill over the natural stone paving stones.