The future Clínic will transform the entrance to Barcelona on Diagonal

BarcelonaThe push for the new Clínico-University of Barcelona Health Campus project at the top of Diagonal is also accelerating plans to transform its surroundings. Diagonal.- The escalator that today welcomes the city if you arrive from the B-23 could have its days numbered.

a kind of white paper that will serve as a guide when the final projects have to be drawn up. The objective of the document is to propose that Diagonal gain ground on the B-23 by becoming a more pleasant and peaceful metropolitan promenade. It should be moved almost a kilometer further, to the Avinguda dels Països Catalans, now in Esplugues de Llobregat.

These approximately 800 meters of avenue that would be gained up to the new traffic light would be the continuation of a calmer Avenida Diagonal. According to the Barcelona Regional document—a draft that will be worked on—this section of the highway would have a more pleasant urban section, with a wide promenade—as can be seen in the graphic below—and a long row of trees between the center and side lanes, as well as wide sidewalks on both sides. The document also envisions an intervention similar to the Ronda de Dalt at this height, with central and side promenades for walking.

In the case of the Collblanc road, which would delimit the lower part of the future hospital, university, and research campus, the plan is also to intervene, but in this case not so much in the design of the road itself, but rather emphasizing the importance of ensuring the presence of facilities, housing, and the urban fabric at both corners of the road.

All of this aims to help erase the boundaries between municipalities currently being built by these two road infrastructures in the area, and to fulfill the Metropolitan Urban Master Plan (PDUM)'s desire to create large metropolitan avenues that are much more permeable and facilitate movement around the area by public transport, with special attention to buses. This is especially true given the intensive use the area will receive once the campus opens.

60,000 m² cattle on the road

In this effort to streamline access to Barcelona via the Diagonal and bring neighboring municipalities closer together, the project proposes another notable measure: the transformation of the junctions that currently connect the B-23 with the Ronda de Dalt, both entering and exiting Barcelona. These ring roads, now visible, could, in the same way as the Gran Via in Glòries, be built with tunnels that would allow a rapid connection between the B-23 and the Ronda de Dalt, both entering and exiting Barcelona.

A kind of underground tunnel that would allow for a gain of 60,000 m² of developable land, transforming the current road junction into an urban intersection without losing the connection between the B-23 and the Ronda de Dalt. This would also allow for the construction of an urban facade along this section of the two roads, generating new public spaces that would connect two key elements of this entire area: the new Clinical Health Campus – University of Barcelona and the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital.

The subway and public transport

This transformation of the road junction should be coordinated with another major project that has accelerated the development of the future Campus: the extension of metro line 3 to Esplugues Centre. Last May, the Catalan government released an update on the project, which will mean that the Clínic and the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital will share a station in the area. The design proposal for this new station envisions the creation of an underground concourse connecting both facilities, bridging the difference in elevation.

The Barcelona Regional document also raises the importance of making this new area a new intermodal mobility hub, connecting the metro with surface public transport to facilitate traffic reduction. In this regard, it emphasizes the need to also plan for the creation of an intercity bus station. Furthermore, given the expected high energy demand for an area with two large hospitals, research centers, and a railway hub, it emphasizes that a new electrical substation will be necessary in the area.

The drive for this entire redevelopment of the area should also unblock pending transformations such as that of Can Rigalt and better connect with the renovated Finestrelles area. To articulate all these elements, the project proposes following the path of the area's old streams and torrents to promote a network of green axes that generate walkable routes that unite the Collserola Natural Park with the existing parks, squares, and facilities, and those that will emerge in the new area.

A demanding schedule

To carry out this entire renovation while meeting the deadline for opening the new Campus by 2035, the document sets out a demanding timeline that requires, from the outset, the drafting and initial approval of the Urban Master Plan to be completed by 2026. This will require the agreement of all stakeholders—the Generalitat (Generalitat), Barcelona, and the city councils of Barcelona, Hospitalet de Llobregat, and Esplugues de Llobregat. For now, they have already commissioned Barcelona Regional Government to prepare a planning proposal based on the criteria of this preliminary document.