The L8 works are spreading across Barcelona: it's now Gràcia's turn.

BarcelonaThe connection of the Generalitat Railways' Line 8 between Plaça Espanya and Gràcia is now a reality, affecting mobility in much of downtown Barcelona. Work to connect the two ends of this line began last year at Plaça Espanya and intensified in January. Since then, The works also affect two sections of Urgell Street and cause important changes in the Diagonal Avenue at the entrance to the city and in Francesc Macià Square, where a new bus stop is being built. Starting this Monday, the work will also have a significant impact on mobility. in the Gràcia neighborhood.

Starting this evening, March 17th, work will close a section of Travessera de Gràcia between Via Augusta and Carrer de Sant Gabriel (at the bottom of Plaça Gal·la Placídia). Furthermore, traffic will reverse between this street and Gran de Gràcia. Starting Tuesday, March 25th, and continuing until the summer, construction work to build a new emergency exit will also occupy the sidewalk and two lanes (on the Llobregat side) of Carrer Muntaner, between Carrer Laforja and Carrer Marià Cubí.

Thus, the L8 works are now one of the largest projects Barcelona will experience (and endure) in the coming years. It is a long-awaited infrastructure: The L8 connection has been drawn on paper for twenty years. The project aims to connect the Llobregat-Anoia line with the Vallès line. The current construction schedule is 58 months (almost five years), with a total investment of €412 million and the construction of two new stops: one in Francesc Macià and another at Hospital Clínic.

Despite the efforts of the Generalitat (Catalan government) and the City Council to hold meetings with those affected, the works have caused confusion among shopkeepers, residents, and drivers in each neighborhood they have passed through. This has also occurred in Gràcia, the fourth point of the works. Shopkeepers on Travessera de Gràcia claim they have not received any warning. "We found out because our colleague at the bodega saw a sign," explains Cristina, a clothing store owner. "They've forgotten about us, at least on that stretch," she adds.

A few meters further on, Mika assures us that this is the final blow to his shoe store. "I don't care anymore; we're closing. We've noticed a huge drop in customers and the numbers don't add up anymore," he laments, adding that the only information they have is word of mouth. The hairdresser's didn't know anything about the change of direction, and neither did the grocery store until they saw the sign. "It doesn't surprise us. They never warn us about anything, but neither did those governments nor the previous ones, eh!" the owner laments. The Generalitat maintains that information meetings have been held with neighbors, to which shopkeepers were also invited.

Families with children have also complained about the construction work, because The works have occupied the entire children's play area in Gal·la Placídia Square., one of the few playgrounds available in this area, which served as a recreational area for children from three schools. After studying the case, work will also begin this Monday to relocate this playground to the mountain side of the same square, next to the construction site.

Chaotic Background

Beyond the long-standing construction work on L9, which will resume in 2022, it has been years since tunnel boring machines have been drilling into Barcelona's subsoil. The L8 tunnel will be excavated at a very deep level, between 50 and 70 meters underground, because the new 4-km-long tunnel must pass beneath L1, the Adif lines, the AVE tunnel, and a depot. The Catalan government insists that building this new line, which they are already calling "the Baix Llobregat metro," is a "major project" with unavoidable impacts. But once completed, they maintain, it will have a significant social return and will increase from 23 million passengers per year to 38 million.

Meanwhile, the toll to pay is to live with the works: closed streets, detours and noise "at the limit" of the permitted decibels. Precedents corroborate this. Last month, the chaos in mobility was already evident in Francesc Macià Already entering Barcelona via the Diagonal. Some drivers explained to ARA that it took them 30 minutes to drive a stretch that normally took them five. The same scene had already occurred a few weeks earlier in Plaça Espanya, where The coincidence of several fairs with the construction work on L8 also caused major traffic jams. traffic at this large Barcelona roundabout.

Since January, the 100,000 residents and 8,000 merchants on Urgell Street have also experienced what it means to live with these construction projects from Monday to Saturday. Large panels up to six meters high They are erected in front of building facades in an attempt to mitigate the noise of the machines drilling into the ground, which fills the entire roadway. "We understand that the situation is necessary, but we're afraid it will drag on and become chronic," a shopkeeper admitted to this newspaper a few weeks ago.

The roadblocks on this section also prevent the passage of up to 50,000 vehicles. who used to circulate every day along Urgell Street, which has forced the City Council to draw up a detour plan to enter and exit the Eixample. A major challenge because, as they admit, there is no other street capable of absorbing so much traffic. Now, cars enter through Numancia Street and Josep Tarradellas Avenue and exit through Calàbria, Casanova, and Aribau. These roads, incidentally, have also significantly increased their traffic density.

"With everything that's happened down there [referring to the other neighborhoods under construction], which are grid-like and organized streets, I don't even want to think about what's going to happen to us here in Gràcia," confesses Juan, who is waiting for the bus while looking at the construction work. "Now that I think about it: the bus will also change routes, right?" he asks.