'It's a disgrace': Video sparks outrage at poor state of key Malaga Airport access road

Dashcam footage which shows a vehicle driving precariously along a road near Malaga Airport to avoid potholes has sparked outrage at the condition of the city council-managed thoroughfare.

In the video published by Fuengirola Se Queja on Instagram, which has accumulated thousands of views, a vehicle can be seen driving along the MA-21 road near the Cola-Cola bottling plant, cautiously trying to avoid large holes in the road and along unmarked lanes.

"It's a disgrace: unmarked lanes, potholes and a 15-centimetre gap that I don't know what damage it will have done to the underside of my car," the driver can be heard saying in the video. The footage also captures the moment the vehicle travels over gravel, with stones flicking up and hitting the windscreen.

The works (or rather, the poor progress of these) to resurface the road that connects Malaga city with Torremolinos, one of the busiest thoroughfares in the area and also one of the two access routes to the airport, have sparked a steady stream of complaints from motorists.

In addition to potholes and uneven ground, loose gravel and dust, there is also a lack of signage, with unmarked lanes that spark confusion among drivers. It's also beside a car rental agency, creating even more confusion among drivers who are not familiar with the area, or driving on the right hand side of the road.

A multiple collision occurred near the Toys'R'Us toy shop last Saturday 4 November about 9.20pm resulting in three people being rushed to hospital. According to the alert received by the 112 emergency service, one of the vehicles was written-off after spinning out on the road. Three cars were involved in the collision involving a 48-year-old woman and a 65-year-old man, who were taken to Hospital Clínico. A third victim, a 23-year-old woman, was taken to the Materno Infantil.

Socialist spokesman and leader of the opposition at Malaga city council Dani Pérez said the MA-21 at the moment is "a danger, with the asphalt raised and the lanes unmarked". "Malaga city council must act as quickly as possible to finish the works and, above all, establish adequate signposting to avoid accidents like the one last weekend," he added.

Municipal response

In December last year, the city council awarded the contract for the remodelling of the road surface on the MA-21 and Avenida Valle Inclán, with an investment of 2.2 million euros and a completion period of 15 months.

The works, carried out by Pavimentaciones Morales-Actua Infraestructuras, are aimed at improving the road surface on two sections. The works are focused on the section between the exit of the Valdició business park and the entrance to the airport.

But the city council has fended off criticism and claimed the section of road under construction is "perfectly well signposted and with a speed limit of 40 kilometres per hour".