Minister Miguel Barrachina has emphasised that the Council is dedicated to improving and modernising water systems in Vega Baja. He mentioned that 21.2 million euros will be used to upgrade irrigation infrastructure, which will directly benefit local farmers and irrigators.

Barrachina talked about this after seeing part II of the Vega Baja irrigation project in Los Montesinos, Rafal, and Orihuela.

“The Council is dedicated to the Vega Baja, and our efforts to improve water systems show this commitment.” Barrachina said, “We’ll keep working to make sure that water gets to those who need it, just like we have from the very beginning.”

Barrachina explained that the Council has invested 13.5 million euros in the ‘Plan de Ayudas a la Vega Baja Fase 2’ to update irrigation systems. The goal is to use water more efficiently, improve the irrigation system, conserve water, and better manage drainage to handle possible floods in the future.

He also mentioned that work will be done on several buildings, like the San Bartolomé arroba in Orihuela and Rafal, and the azarbe de la Gralla, azarbe de las Fuentes, azarbe de los Caballos, acequia de Alquibla, and acequia Molina in Orihuela. Work will be carried out on several canals in different locations. This includes the Nueva and Palacios canals in Formentera del Segura, the azarbe of Piedra Horadada in Callosa de Segura, the Canalillo canal in Albatera and Crevillente, the canal from the 1st to the 2nd elevation of Riegos de Levante in Elche, and the azarbe de Cebada Aguas Vivas in Dolores.

The councillor highlighted the 4.1 million euros set aside for upgrading the drainage systems in the towns of San Fulgencio, Crevillente, Catral, and Orihuela.

Miguel Barrachina has also suggested that the Vega Baja will have 3.5 million euros from the Mechanism for Recovery and Resilience, managed by the Generalitat, destined to the rehabilitation, conditioning and improvement of hydraulic infrastructures. These investments are intended to improve water usage and protect areas like Jacarilla, San Fulgencio, Callosa de Segura, and Elche from potential storms.

These investments show that Carlos Mazón’s government is dedicated to the Vega Baja and to improving the situation for irrigators and farmers who have struggled for years due to not having enough water.

Barrachina has once again supported the water needs of farmers in Alicante, saying, “We will fight for every drop of water that the farmers in Alicante need, which the government of Pedro Sánchez has often refused to give us.”

Starting tomorrow, Tuesday, 28 January, Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV) will provide a bus service between the Hospital Vila and Benidorm stops on Line 1 (Luceros-Benidorm) of the TRAM d’Alacant until the end of April.

Line 9 (Benidorm-Dénia) will return to normal along its whole route after the new Algar and Mascarat bridges are finished. This means you won’t need to make any transfers for the journey.

The train service on this part of Line 1 is stopped because workers are adding more tracks and installing electric lines. As an alternative, FGV has planned a bus service on this section with stops in Benidorm, Cala Finestrat, Hospital Vila, Costera Pastor and Creueta that will connect with the railway service in circulation, at the stops of Creueta (direction Luceros) and Benidorm (direction Dénia). The Terra Mítica stop will not have bus service in the affected area.

For more information about our services, you can check the schedule, stations, and TRAM stops by calling Customer Service at 900 72 04 72. You can also find this information on our website www.tramalacant.es and in the official app.

Opening of the Altea-Calp part of Line 9.

The new Algar and Masacrat bridges are finished, so the Altea-Calp section, which has been closed since last April, is now open again. Also, the upgrades to Line 9 are complete, allowing trains to run directly between Benidorm and Dénia without passengers needing to change trains.

The new Algar and Mascarat bridges complete the major makeover of Line 9 that began in 2014. This project by the Generalitat has caused disruptions in service in various parts of the line for the past ten years.

New bridges

The project on the Algar River involved making a new bridge next to the old one, which was built between 1913 and 1915. The old bridge is now used as a walkway, according to its classification as a Local Relevant Asset.

The Algar project involved building a bridge with a concrete slab that is 226 meters long and 6 meters wide.

The new Mascarat viaduct is a straight metal structure that weighs 114,000 kilogrammes and is 43.20 meters long. It crosses the valley with a single support and has the same design as the original deck, which is a PRATT-type metal structure.

Mascarat’s work includes replacing the railway platform’s structure with slab track for about 1.5 kilometres. They are also protecting and covering 12,475 square meters of slopes with strong triple torsion meshes around the three tunnels that the TRAM d’Alacant travels through in this area.

The new bridges will allow for the removal of the diesel trains, which will be replaced by newer dual-fuel trains. These new trains will be used on the Dénia-Calp section starting in 2023 and will operate along the entire line.

Features of the projects between Hospital Vila and Benidorm.

The ongoing projects are in the towns of Vila Joiosa, Finestrat, and Benidorm, covering a distance of 6.23 kms. The project has a budget of about 40 million euros, including VAT, and is funded by the European Union’s MRR.

The project involves building a second track, which includes making a new bridge over the Barranco del Murtal, laying down the track structure and adding electricity.

In this project, we will upgrade the Cala Finestrat and Terra Mítica stops to meet new accessibility standards. We will also improve access to the Hospital de la Marina Baixa from the Hospital Vila stop by adding a lift to make it easier for everyone to get to.

The project is set to start by the end of 2025 and will need to pause train services for a while.

On Tuesday, January 28, 2025, high winds are expected to trigger yellow-level warnings, according to the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET). The Iberian Peninsula’s east and southeast will be affected by maximum gusts of 70 to 90 km/h that are predicted to come from the west-northwest.

Be aware that these notices may be raised to higher levels or extended to further places as the date approaches. We advise to take the following precautions:

• protects items against wind-driven displacement.
• Steer clear of open outdoor spaces.
• Follow instructions from authorities and stay updated via official sources.