Days numbered for accident blackspot stetch of A-357 in Guadalhorce valley

The A-357 in the Guadalhorce valley is a deadly road, and unfortunately in this case the adjective applies with all its literal harshness: it is the most dangerous road for accidents in Malaga province and, moreover, it strangles the economic development of the area. This has been the case for more than 15 years, when the last attempt was made to move ahead with the upgrading to a motorway process, without successive governments at the head of the Junta giving it the priority it deserved: both for the economic development of the Guadalhorce valley and for its tourist attractions, such as the Caminito del Rey and the Sierra de las Nieves national park. It is also one of the main access points to Ronda and home to important agro-industrial companies.

The last announcement of works on this key route dates back to December 2009. At that time, the Junta de Andalucía regional government announced an investment of almost 28 million euros for the construction of the Casapalma-Cerralba section, after awarding the works to a joint venture formed by Dragados and Otero (30-month deadlne). The plan consisted of the construction of four kilometres of dual carriageway, to handle the daily traffic capacity of 40,000 vehicles.

But the work on the ground never started. Now, after 15 years at a standstill, the time for the extension of the Guadalhorce motorway seems to have arrived. The worrying accident rate on the A-357 road, together with the increase in population in the Guadalhorce valley and the impetus of the new heads of the regional government's Ministry of Public Works have meant that the longed-for motorway extension is moving forward, at least on paper.

More than 331,000 euros has already been invested in the drafting of the project for the widening of the four-kilometre stretch between the Casapalma and Cerralba junctions (from points 43 to 39). The estimated budget for construction is 52.2 million euros.

The regional ministry has also recently received eight bids from engineering consultancies interested in undertaking the drafting of the project for the dual carriageway between Cerralba and Zalea.

This will add another four kilometres of dual carriageway with current safety and quality standards (from point 43 to 39 of the A-357) and will give continuity to the conversion into a dual carriageway of the previous one, which is already in the drafting phase of the construction project.

As a result, from the point where the road is now a single lane, at the BP petrol station in Casapalma, just before crossing the Río Grande, a platform of two carriageways, seven metres wide and separated by a central reservation, will be planned. Therefore, each of the carriageways will have two 3.5-metre wide lanes.

This new section will help to boost the economy in the geographical Alto Guadalhorce area, the Serranía de Ronda and the western area of the Vega de Antequera, where there are important tourist attractions, such as the Caminito del Rey and the Sierra de las Nieves. And economically, in an area with an extensive agricultural and livestock industry, among others.

In total, the road is 70 kilometres long, of which 30 are dual carriageways (two or more lanes) and it has an average daily traffic density (ADI) of 25,000 vehicles, measured by Spain's DGT roads authority at the access to the Malaga's technology park, which is the point where the greatest traffic is concentrated. It serves a population of more than 150,000 inhabitants in the municipalities of Guadalhorce valley and Sierra de las Nieves.