The Government considers recovering tolls on the AP-7

BarcelonaThe Generalitat is considering reintroducing barriers on the AP-7 to limit access and reduce the volume of vehicles that this major artery supports, especially since the tolls were eliminated, five years ago. This was confirmed this Friday by the Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque, after the debate on the reintroduction of tolls has been strongly reopened in Catalonia over the last two days.

The President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, made it clear on Wednesday, during the control session in Parliament. "Perhaps we were wrong when, happily, we all asked for no more tolls," the president commented, in response to the president of Comuns, Jéssica Albiach, who had earlier criticized him for the mobility and accident problems that this road is suffering from.

The Secretary of Mobility and Infrastructure of the Government, Manel Nadal, continued to add arguments in favour of tolls on Thursday on Catalunya Ràdio, where he stated that this infrastructure can no longer absorb more truck traffic. Nadal's statements came shortly after up to four new serious accidents were recorded on the AP-7: a fatal accident at dawn – in which a 17-year-old minor died – and three more accidents early in the morning, with trucks involved. The accidents greatly complicated mobility at various points, especially in Tarragonès and also in Martorell. For this reason, Nadal also pointed out that, in addition to reopening the debate on access barriers, it is also necessary to improve the capacity of alternative routes or allow trucks to circulate on the old N-340 or N-II.

Payment per use

This Friday, the Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque, made it clear again: "We are thinking of making some proposal linked to use and, above all, linked to the use of heavy tonnage transport and also linked to emissions," the minister detailed. The Government is therefore proposing a new form of payment based on the use of the AP-7, "in the style of what was known as the vignette," Paneque admitted.

Both Nadal and Paneque, however, recall that the measure "must be agreed with the ministry" and, therefore, would require parliamentary processing at the state level. "We must recover tolls, with whatever formula we want," assured Secretary Nadal, and stressed the need to do so in a consensual way with the State. "We cannot have a border in Ulldecona and another in Seròs, and have truckers circulate freely throughout Spain and pay here," he said.

Two to three years ahead (if there is an agreement)

However, if there is political will, Territori believes that the tolls could be recovered in two or three years. The Ministry of Transport has not wanted to add any assessment nor detail whether the proposal has already been put on the table in Madrid.

"For the moment, the Interior Ministry is working to see how traffic can be reduced or reorganized because, effectively, since the liberation of the tolls, the use [of the AP-7] is very intense and, beyond the maintenance of the road, there is a very high accident rate," admitted the Minister of Territori, who added that her department is also working to obtain the resources to widen lanes where necessary, especially in Vallès, in Penedès, with a fourth lane; in Terres de l'Ebre, with a third lane, and also to improve safety at the entrances to the southern section of Girona.