The AP-7 between Crevillente and Orihuela-Benferri is set to benefit from a 74 million euro widening scheme, which will see an additional lane added to the motorway.
The contract is valued at 74,037,450.00 euro (89,585,314.5 IVA included), and has been proposed by the Ministry of Mobility, Transport and Urban Agenda awarding to the UTE Ferrovial Construcciones SA and Acsa Obras e Infraestructuras SAU for the contract for the construction of the third lane.
Thus, it is expected that in the coming months work can begin that the residents of Vega Baja have been waiting for for years. However, it is work that will take years to see the light of day. In fact, the execution period is five years, so they will be completed in 2029 at the earliest.
The works involve the creation of this third lane from Crevillente to the access to Orihuela on the CV-870 highway, along the 17 kilometres of the section.
This new infrastructure provides continuity to the previous section, between Crevillente and Elche, which already has three lanes in each direction since 2008. In addition, the Crevillente-Catral, Albatera-San Isidro, Granja de Rocamora-Cox, N-340 Redován and Orihuela-Benferri, according to the Ministry, adapt to a new configuration of the road.
The objective is to improve the flow of traffic on this section, since it is a highway that absorbs a lot of traffic and with a large presence of trucks, which makes circulation difficult, especially during peak hours. It is the main communication route for industrial areas as important as the Polígono de la Granadina in San Isidro, with important logistics centres of several supermarket chains, or the Polígono Puente Alto in Orihuela. It is also the communication route between Alicante and Murcia, so vehicle traffic is a constant.
Whether this investment staves off the opposition criticism that the central government are not investing in the infrastructure of the Alicante province remains to be seen, although it is unlikely.
