Urgent calls to fix accident blackspot road in Malaga province following ten fatalities this year

There are urgent calls to make the notorious A-355 road in Malaga province safer, a key route between the Guadalhorce valley and Marbella which has claimed the lives of ten people this year.

The latest demands come after three people - two men aged 70 and 80 and a woman aged 62 - died at kilometre 4 of the busy road that passes through the municipality of Coín on Tuesday 19 December. It was the latest in a string of incidents prompting Spain's national Directorate-General for Traffic to discuss with local councils and the Junta de Andalucía about what can be done to improve the road's safety record.

Coín mayor Francisco Santos said: "We believe that the road is in a fairly good condition, but due to high traffic flows, road safety problems have increased". "We have demanded the widening of the road from Casapalma to Coín, which is something that is on the table and is being analysed by the Junta de Andalucía regional government," he added. SUR also attempted to contact Monda mayor María Remedios Fernández for comment.

Andalusian government sources told SUR that traffic along the busy route has increased, with more vehicles travelling to Marbella and the coast for business and leisure purposes. What was initially 7,000 vehicles per day quickly became 10,000 and now almost 20,000 use it daily, the sources said.

Meeting agenda

The highest of fatalities happened between May and August this year, prompting road authorities to hold urgent talks. The DGT is considering installing safety signs as there are currently none, except on the final stretch in Ojén. Here, the route is winding, encouraging drivers to reduce their speed, however in the Coín area there are long straights. The other black spot is the junction with the A-357 dual carriageway, sources added.

20.000 vehicles a day

Some 20,000 vehicles a day travel on this main road The increase in traffic prompted the Junta to allocate an item in its 2024 budget to improve road safety on the A-355. In recent months, safety barriers have been installed on one of the viaducts; as well as along 4km of the route. There are also new road signage changes, road markings with reflective paint, and a continuous double line.

According to sources, the Junta next plans to paint a red line on the central axis, in line with the new road safety guidelines in force across Europe, and to install lit signs warning drivers to control their speed.There are plans to either build a median strip or widen the carriageway.

Road safety plan

The A-355 regional road links Cártama and Marbella for 41 kilometres, taking about 40 minutes. An average of 20,000 vehicles pass along it every day, especially on the last stretch towards the Costa del Sol.

The road is part of what was to be the Carretera de Arco (Marbella-Vélez inland route), promised by the Junta in 1992. The route remained unfinished and on the eastern side of the province, it became the A-356, linking Vélez Málaga and Casabermeja.

History of an accident blackspot

A couple from Coín, aged 62 and 70, and a resident of Malaga, aged 80, were the latest victims on the road this week. The investigation suggests they died in a head-on collision when one of the cars was trying to overtake a lorry.

On 10 November, there was a multiple collision involving two cars, a van and a motorbike. There was one fatality and four injured, one of them seriously. The car crossed into the oncoming lane and collided head-on with the van.

An accident between two lorries and a car resulted in two injuries on 13 September in the Villafranco del Guadalhorce area. On 24 August, another two people were killed in another incident. The driver who allegedly caused the collision was arrested hours later after apparently fleeing the scene.

Two deaths were recorded on 29 June, while two young women ,aged 26 and 27, were killed in a head-on collision between two cars on 5 May.