Regional government and Marbella town hall complete the transformation of the road to Istán
The 4.7 million euro project has involved the complete renovation of the route, the widening of the road and the creation of a cycle lane
The Andalusian regional government and Marbella town hall have completed the remodelling of the urban section of the road linking the province with Istán (A-7176), a road used daily by more than 2,100 vehicles. The road provides access to educational centres with more than a thousand students and is also used by cycling enthusiasts. The work, which has been carried out on a stretch of just under two kilometres, has cost 4.7 million euros, 60 per cent of which was financed by the regional authority and 40 per cent by the local council.
The aim was to modernise a road owned by the Junta de Andalucía, which also fulfils an important urban function, as it connects numerous residential developments and public facilities in the municipality. For the council, this is not only a "large-scale" intervention, but also "essential, especially for road safety reasons", which responds to a "long-standing" demand.
The road has been provided with 1.5 metre shoulders, 2.5 metre pavements and four roundabouts to improve safety
The project has upgraded the road with 1.5-metre-wide hard shoulders and 2.5-metre-wide pavements on both sides. In addition, four roundabouts have been built to regulate traffic, reduce speed and ensure safety at junctions.
The refurbishment has also included cross drainage works and ditches along the edges to prevent water from flooding the pavements, as well as the installation of public lighting, underground electricity and an irrigation and landscaping network. In addition, 71 large and medium-sized trees, 235 palm trees, 91 more of other species and 2,400 square metres of grass have been planted and new street furniture and signposting have been installed.
Complexity
The work was carried out in several phases to reduce the inconvenience involved in a project of this nature, which the council said "was not easy to implement". In fact, in order to carry out the work and widen the road, it has been necessary to acquire land, in some cases by means of forced expropriation.
Furthermore, the work was affected by the emergence of impacted services, which required an increase in the planned budget and extended the timeframe for the completion of this long-awaited renovation that improves the urban section of the road connecting Marbella and Istán.
