Calpe requests a roundabout at the southern access point over the N-332

The Calpe Town Council have all agreed to ask the Ministry of Public Works to build a roundabout at the southern entrance to the town through its Alicante Roads Unit. This would solve the long-standing problem of safety for those walking near the train station. Because of this, the council has given up on plans for a pedestrian bridge over the N-332 highway. The Ministry gave the project to the winning bidder in 2019, but it was put on hold when the bidder pulled out in 2020.

Juan Manuel del Pino, the Councillor for Infrastructure, said that the Calpe Town Council has met with people from the Ministry of Public Works several times since then to speed up this much-needed and long-awaited project in the town. It is important to mention that right now, those who want to get to the train station or different neighbourhoods in Oltà have to cross the road, which is dangerous.

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Finally, a strategy has been adopted that not only puts the safety of pedestrians first, but also tries to make traffic flow better at the southern entry to the town. The plan calls for turning the old tunnel, which was built more than 40 years ago, into a corridor just for pedestrians and bicycles. This will make sure that people can safely get to the train station and the neighbourhoods of Oltà. At the same time, a roundabout is being built to help organise and control how cars enter and leave an area where the current infrastructure can’t handle the amount of traffic that is currently there.

Juan Manuel del Pino, who thinks this project “is more beneficial and important for the community than the footbridge project,” said, “What we are bringing to the plenary session is a formal request to the Ministry to draft this project and carry out the works.” He went on to say that the request serves as a reminder to the Ministry of Public Works that the City Council still has access to the property it bought for the footbridge, which is 5,176.78 square meters, and that it can now be utilised to build the roundabout.

Guillermo Sendra, the Councillor for Citizen Security, said, “This is great news. We will go from having an old, dangerous access to a roundabout that will get rid of the dangers that are there now.” He also said that the cost of this project is about the same as the footbridge.

Toni Tur, a councillor for Defendamos Calpe, stated that the southern access to Calpe “needs a solution because it is dangerous and third-world to see people crossing from the station to the national highway.”

Miguel Crespo, the spokesperson for the PP municipal group, said that this new infrastructure project is “necessary and vital and deserves the full effort of this corporation.”

Ana Sala, the mayor of Calpe, said, “The most important thing is that the Ministry clearly understands that this access road needs to be fixed and is willing to write the project for us and make it a priority.” And this will happen sooner than we believe. She said they would keep trying to make the project happen as soon as possible.

Author: Derek Appleton