Dilip Kuner
THE Junta de Andalucía has finally given the green light to build a key 4.2km stretch of the long-promised Guadalhorce motorway – a move that could help ease years of traffic chaos heading into Malaga.
The €57 million project aims to extend the dual carriageway from Campanillas towards the high-tech Andalucian Technology Park (PTA), and forms part of the so-called ‘future’ motorway linking Malaga, Campillos and Ronda.
The full route of the mooted Malaga-Campillos-Ronda highway is still a mystery, with no official blueprint in sight.
Only Patricia Navarro, the Junta’s delegate in Malaga, has suggested that most of the new road might follow the current A-357 layout – but that’s still just talk for now.
What is confirmed is that the works will finally restart on a stretch that was mothballed 16 years ago under the previous regional government. The road upgrade will run between Cerralba (Cartama) and the Casapalma junction (Pizarra) – a commuter bottleneck plagued by traffic from nearby towns.
“This is a vital link to improve connectivity between the Guadalhorce Valley, the capital, and the Costa del Sol,” said Junta spokesperson Carolina España, adding that it’s also part of the main route to Ronda.
But frustrated locals aren’t convinced. Mayors from the area have slammed the Junta for the ‘painfully slow progress’ and delays that have plagued the project for years.
The original plan was to tweak existing road projects to save time – but that idea was scrapped, and new plans had to be drawn up from scratch, causing years of hold-ups.
This latest stretch is just phase one. Another 4km is supposedly in the works, but that’s still in the “drafting the paperwork” phase, which officials say could take another two years – although they hope to speed things up.
Meanwhile, in Ronda, there’s talk of doubling the lanes on a separate 4km section between the town and the Los Pinos urbanisation. But critics say it’s less of a motorway and more of a glorified town avenue – a fix aimed more at linking suburban housing than streamlining regional traffic.
Click here to read more Andalucia News from The Olive Press.
