Pilar de la Horadada AP-7 tunnel to reopen on the last weekend of June

Pilar de la Horadada. Late yesterday, Sunday June 15th, Mayor José María Pérez declared that the AP-7 tunnel through the town will reopen the last weekend of June. The Pilar Mayor recounted that on May 9th, a horrible traffic accident occurred inside the AP-7 tunnel, killing a truck driver. The accident resulted in a fire and substantial damage to the infrastructure lane between Alicante and Cartagena.

As a result of the disaster, the tunnel is blocked to traffic in the Cartagena direction. For more than a month, the heavy traffic that uses this road has been diverted to the parallel N-332 road, though the streets of Pilar de la Horadada are also used, which “causes traffic jams, hold-ups, and bottlenecks for traffic seeking to pass through to San Pedro del Pinatar,” according to the mayor.

In a social media post, Pérez noted that he met with Jesús Redondo, head of the General Directorate of Highways at the Ministry of Transport, who handles this area, “to propose alternatives and solutions” to the traffic congestion.

“However, solutions to this situation are complicated,” says the mayor. “The simplest approach would be to double the number of open lanes (as an alternative); however, the Ministry prohibits opening one of the roads to two-way traffic for safety concerns. “Unpaved secondary roads are the only options available,” he continued.

“The good news is that I’ve been informed that they expect the AP-7 tunnel to open to traffic in the direction of Cartagena for the last weekend of June, as the work is progressing as planned,” the mayor told reporters.

Residential Tourism

“This is reassuring news,” he said, noting that the weekend is when the majority of residents and tourists are expected to come and begin their vacation in Pilar de la Horadada.

According to José María Pérez (PP), the Ministry is working fast to repair the damaged infrastructure caused by the fire, which is very appreciated.

Improved security

The disaster also occurred during the preliminary phase of work to increase tunnel safety, which had to be suspended. The majority of the work was set to begin on the day the vehicle overturned, bursting a tyre.