Malaga considers burying all traffic along the Guadalmedina riverbanks, from Ciudad Jardin to the port
The city council has extended the contract signed with the consultancy firm that drew up the project for the 'plaza-bridges' to enlarge the initially planned tunnels
Malaga city council is planning a more ambitious traffic reorganisation operation in Plan Guadalmedina for the construction of the 'plaza-bridges'.
Until now, the idea was to build a 1,400-metre tunnel beneath the Santa Isabel corridor and Avenida de la Rosaleda, as well as a 500-metre extension of the existing tunnel under Pasillo de Guimbarda along Avenida de Fátima. A new study, however, is considering a much more comprehensive burying of traffic from Ciudad Jardín to the port.
For this to happen, the city council and municipal company Promálaga have extended the contract signed with consultancy firm Esteyco to include a large-scale traffic reorganisation. The deadline for the preliminary project is end of May and the 302,500-euro budget has been increased by 59,895 euros.
As the city council has pointed out, this upgrade responds to a request from the Port Authority to improve access for goods vehicles to the docks, "based on the high demand for vehicle traffic that the entity port body expects in the coming years".
This increase in the length of the tunnels that will bury traffic on the Guadalmedina riverbank would a change to the ventilation system drafts necessary, replacing the longitudinal system with a more complex transversal one. The tunnels would also have to be widened to accommodate goods transport vehicles.
"This will require a re-evaluation of how the new section fits with the existing underground infrastructure and installations," the city council said.
Demolition and replacement of the tunnel under the Guimbarda corridor
The demolition of the tunnel section between the Aurora and Esperanza bridges, next to Santo Domingo, will be included in the preliminary project of the Guadalmedina plan in order to build a new tunnel adapted to current road safety regulations.
The study is expected to increase the construction budget by 300 million euros. In addition to the construction of the five 'plaza-bridges' planned to connect the city centre with the Trinidad and Perchel districts, Esteyco will also be responsible for carrying out the traffic work.
The Guadalmedina plan's objective is to gain some 12,300 square metres of living areas. Three of the 'plaza-bridges' will be between the Armiñán and Aurora bridges and two in the area around Santo Domingo.
The plan also includes interventions in the riverbed to increase the gradient in the stretch between Avenida de Fátima and Avenida de la Rosaleda and create a permanent low-water channel alongside which green spaces will be implemented, forming a sort of 1,400-metre-long riverside park covering 47,900 square metres.
