Calls for busy A-355 road in Malaga province to be made safer after another fatal crash

There are fresh calls to make the notorious A-355 road in Malaga province safer. The 41-kilometre regional road that links Cártama and Marbella has already claimed the lives of ten people this year.

The demand comes after three people - two men aged 70 and 80 and a woman aged 62 - died at kilometre 4 of the road in the municipality of Coín on Tuesday this week. It's the latest in a string of accidents prompting the national Directorate-General of Traffic to open discussions with local authorities and the Junta de Andalucía about what can be done to improve the road.

Coín mayor Francisco Santos said: "We believe that the road is in a fairly good condition, but due to high traffic usage, road safety problems have increased." "We demanded the widening of the road from Casapalma to Coín, which is something that is on the table and is being analysed by the Junta," he added.

Andalusian regional government sources confirmed to SUR that traffic along the thoroughfare has increased, with more vehicles travelling to Marbella and the coast for work and leisure purposes. What was initially 7,000 vehicles per day became 10,000 and is now almost 20,000, the sources said.

The highest number of fatalities occurred between May and August this year, prompting road authorities to hold urgent talks. The DGT is considering installing warning signs as there are currently none, except on the final stretch in Ojén. Here, the route is winding, encouraging drivers to reduce speed, however in the Coín area, there are long straights. The other trouble spot is the junction with the A-357 dual carriageway, sources added.

The increase in traffic prompted the Junta to allocate an item in its 2024 budget to improve road safety on the A-355. In recent months, safety barriers have been installed on one of the viaducts; as well as along four kilometres of the route. There are also new signage changes, road markings with reflective paint, and a continuous double line.

According to sources, the Junta next plans to paint a red line on the central axis, in line with the new road safety guidelines in force across Europe, and to install lit signs warning drivers about controlling their speed.