Ronda gets a new bridge with 120-metre walkway that spans its train tracks

Ronda's latest landmark - a 120-metre footbridge that rises above the town's railway tracks - has opened this Monday 26 August.

The pedestrian bridge in the area of Avenida Victoria, will connect the town with the Adolfo Suárez library, the future bus station and the existing industrial estate. Malaga's provincial authority president Francisco Salado and Ronda mayor Mari Paz Fernández officially opened the footbridge with a traditional ribbon cutting ceremony.

The cost of this footbridge is close to one million euros and is financed by the Diputacíon, which contributed 661,000 euros, and town hall, which chipped in 331,000 euros. In addition to improving mobility, the aim of the footbridge is also to improve the safety of residents and visitors, Salado pointed out.

The opening of the footbridge also allowed Salado to boast about the projects carried out by the provincial authority. He pointed out that three municipal economic assistance plans have been approved for a total amount of almost 51 million euros. He gave as an example that the provincial institution has contributed 131,450 euros to the first phase of the Camino del Desfiladero del Tajo de Ronda, in which an existing path between the Plaza de María Auxiliadora and the base of the new bridge has been conditioned and equipped with safety measures. Several viewpoints have also been created and a building known as Casa Manolillo has been refurbished as an interpretation centre for the area.

The Ronda mayor said the new footbridge will put an end to a dangerous crossing that used to link the town centre with the industrial estate, providing the area with a pedestrian crossing area with stairs, ramps and a lift.

María de la Paz Fernández pointed out that a square has also been built between the library and this walkway, creating a leisure area to facilitate walking connections between these spaces and the future bus station, the construction of which is under way. The square has been built in an open area of around 1,600 square metres.

The mayor said that, in addition to these improvements, there is also the construction of a road that runs from Calle Dolores Ibárruri, parallel to the Ronda-Algeciras railway line, which is being extended as it will have to provide an exit for buses arriving at the new station. She also added that progress has been made in the reorganisation of the entire area around the nursing school in order to transform this area into the future university campus of Ronda.