Tom Ewart Smith
EMERGENCY repairs on the A-397 road linking Ronda to the Costa del Sol are being accelerated after a devastating landslide in March severed the vital transport link.
The collapse – triggered by Storm Jana – occurred near kilometre 31 of the route in the municipality of Benahavis, cutting off the historic town of Ronda from San Pedro Alcantara and forcing the Junta de Andalucia to close the road indefinitely.
Now, the regional government has confirmed that ‘good progress’ has been made on the repair efforts, with the budget for the project increased from €3.7 million to €4.5 million to cover critical new safety measures.
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These include controlled rock blasting after engineers identified further landslide risks along the unstable slope.
“The technicians have concluded that it is essential to carry out controlled blasting in certain unstable rock masses,” the Ministry of Public Works, Territorial Coordination, and Housing said in an official statement.
“These works will be coordinated with the Department of Industry and the Government Subdelegation in Malaga, thus ensuring their execution under maximum safety conditions.”
The blasting is expected to take place at the end of April, subject to weather and safety conditions.
In the meantime, crews are pressing ahead with installing a dynamic protective barrier on the Ronda side of the road, while on the Malaga side, workers are preparing to fit a high-strength mesh to contain any future rockfalls.
A large crane is being repositioned to assist with the installation.
Once the slope is fully stabilised, the final phase of the project will begin, focusing on repairing the viaduct that was damaged in the landslide.
The ministry confirmed its goal is to restore normal traffic with ‘full safety guarantees’ on what it described as a ‘strategic route for the Serrania de Ronda’.
The road closure has had a dramatic impact on local residents and commuters.
Around 7,500 vehicles normally travel daily along the A-397, many of them driven by workers travelling between Ronda and the coast.
With the main road shut, alternative routes via Gaucin or Ardales have doubled journey times to as long as two hours.
In the immediate aftermath of the collapse, the Ministry stressed that a temporary diversion was ‘technically impossible’ due to the extreme terrain – where slopes exceed 45 degrees and stretch over 200 metres in height.
A full clearance and stabilisation of the slope are required before the route can be safely reopened.
Juan Carlos Romero, a geotechnical engineer, warned the repairs would take ‘several months,’ describing the terrain as complex and the solution as ‘costly and challenging’.
Locals have voiced anger online over the prolonged disruption and claimed a lack of road maintenance contributed to the disaster.
“Many people, including government officials, have no idea about the traffic this road handles,” wrote one user on Facebook. “In the end, it’s us – thousands of people who travel up and down to earn a living – who get screwed over.”
Meanwhile, the business community across the region has rallied behind calls for urgent financial relief and long-term infrastructure planning.
Several associations representing entrepreneurs and small businesses – from San Pedro to Benahavis and Marbella – have issued statements backing demands by the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises of Ronda (APYMER).
Their joint proposal includes direct economic aid for companies and self-employed workers affected by the closure, development of alternative transport routes, and a renewed push for a long-discussed motorway connecting Ronda to the coast.
As a short-term solution, they are calling for tolls on the AP-7 motorway to be waived during the closure, to help offset soaring transport costs.
The proposal has already gained traction among MPs from multiple parties, with cross-party support emerging for a legislative initiative to implement the measure.
Representatives are also urging the central government to work with the Junta de Andalucia to identify eligible users and secure funding for the toll exemption.
Meetings are now being planned with local government officials to fast-track the proposal and maintain pressure for swift institutional coordination.
The associations warn that without immediate action, the long-term economic and social fallout could devastate communities on both sides of the mountains.
