The AP-7 motorway will be completely closed southbound again for 5 days

BarcelonaThe gradual reopening of the AP-7 motorway has been reversed after the Gelida train accident forced its complete closure for safety reasons. Last Saturday, the Catalan government announced the reopening of the left southbound lane near Martorell. However, this Wednesday, the director of the Catalan Traffic Service, Ramon Lamiel, announced its closure again to ensure track repairs can be carried out. Therefore, the AP-7 is once again completely closed southbound near Martorell. Sources from the Ministry of Transport explained to ARA that the lane is expected to reopen within five days, while the full reopening of the road is anticipated within two weeks, starting February 10th, according to the same sources. Up until now, the work of the crews on the AP-7 had consisted of scraping the embankment that collapsed due to the accident in order to find stable ground. This afternoon they discovered that part of the right-hand lane of the highway also needed to be cleared, which forced them to move the equipment (heavy vehicles and cranes) that had been working in the center of the road to the left-hand lane, which was the only one open. However, Lamiel maintained that the closure was not intended to compromise highway safety: "The ministry has a whole system of sensors to detect any movement, and there hasn't been any. When we reopened on Saturday, they installed them as a precaution in case any abnormal movement was detected."

Alternative routes

Thus, the strategy of diverting traffic to other routes, which, according to Lamiel, has worked so far, is being reinstated. Specifically, he urged citizens to use alternative routes such as the C-25 inland, the N-340 and C-15 towards the Penedès region, the C-32 towards the coast, and the C-58 and B-40 towards the A-2. Of these, the most used by those affected by the AP-7 closure is the C-32, which will be toll-free for the duration of the disruption. In the last week, the number of vehicles using it has doubled, rising from 60,000 at its peak to 120,000 now. However, the closure does not affect the northbound lanes, which remain open to traffic.

It should be noted that the AP-7 is the main route channeling freight traffic from Europe to the Iberian Peninsula and from Spain—and even much of the Maghreb—to Europe. In fact, this route forms part of a corridor designated as a priority by the European Union. Furthermore, Catalonia contributes more than 25% of Spanish exports, a large portion of which leave via this motorway.