Axarquía road to be subsidence-free by early October

The provincial authority, the Diputación de Málaga, is currently working on the three kilometres of the MA-3107 in the worst condition, where water seepage and the poor state of some drainage systems had caused the road surface to warp and subside. The work is expected to be completed by early October.

The work is concentrated between kilometre points 10+370 and 13+740, a section which presented some of the most significant problems along the entire road. At certain points, there were no adequate drainage ditches and water ended up seeping beneath the road, weakening the ground and causing the road surface to subside. Rectifying these deficiencies now means working not only on the road surface, but also on a significant part of the structure that supports it.

The road surface is being completely removed and the ground excavated to a depth of one and a half metres in the worst affected areas. Once the ground has been stabilised, the road surface will be rebuilt using a layer of crushed stone and two further layers of asphalt mix. The project also includes new drainage systems, the replacement of drainage pipes that were deformed or displaced and reinforcements to stabilise the ground underneath the road.

This section of the road remains closed at present and the restrictions are expected to continue until mid-September. After that, the resurfacing and road signage will still need to be completed before the work, which has a budget of 1.2 million euros and are being carried out by Federico García SL, can be declared finished.

This final phase will mark the completion of an improvement programme that the Diputación has carried out in stages, bringing the total investment in the MA-3107 to approximately two million euros. Previously, a further 500,000 euros had been allocated to resurfacing a six-and-a-half-kilometre stretch of the road, as well as carrying out additional works at certain narrow sections. Subsequently, nearly 340,000 euros were invested in rectifying existing defects between kilometres 13+740 and 17+410.

The Diputación estimates that it is allocating around 20 million euros this year to projects on the provincial road network, including structural repairs such as those on the MA-3107, routine maintenance, resurfacing programmes and projects included in the ‘Plan Vía-ble’. In addition to this, there will be a specific programme to renew the road markings on 99 roads, with a budget of 2.1 million euros, which is currently at the tender evaluation stage.

In the case of the road between Benamargosa and Riogordo, if the planned deadlines are met, the final phase of the project which has been rebuilding, section by section, one of the road links in the Axarquía, will be completed by early October.