Essential Estates in Spain presents the following lifestyle news:
The minister of public works, Magdalena Álvarez, has been true to her word and gave the go-ahead on the last day of 2005 to the long-awaited underpass on the A-7 (old N-340) as it passes through San Pedro de Alcántara. On New Year's Eve the State bulletin (BOE) gave the official go-ahead for the project with a budget of 68.6 million euros, double the amount previously allocated. It will be completed in 30 months.
More than 65,000 vehicles travel through San Pedro on the A-7 every day and the underpass and tunnel will signal an end to the long traffic tailbacks and congestion that has been the trademark of this section of the road for the past decade or more. Companies wishing to tender for the project have until January 27 to make their bids.
The project will see the elimination of the existing roundabouts on this stretch of the A-7 with a 1,075 tunnel carrying the traffic through the centre of San Pedro. The tunnel will now be twice its original planned length after the minister listened to the submissions of Marbella Town Hall and local residents' groups who demanded the elimination of the existing three crossings.
Two of the present intersections at El Ingenio and Marqués del Duero will be incorporated in to the tunnel project whilst the third at the junction with the Ronda road will have a link at a different level. The work will start to the south east of San Pedro on the outskirts of Puerto Banús and the actual tunnel section will run from the bus station to the El Ingenio crossing.
