USERS of the Costa del Sol’s costly AP-7 toll road — including thousands of expats commuting along the coast — are set for travel delays after major works were announced to upgrade the Manilva booth.
Autopistas del Sol, the company behind the much-maligned AP-7 motorway, has drawn up a €7.14 million project to expand and modernise the main toll booth at Manilva, in a bid to tackle the chronic summer tailbacks that have plagued the stretch in recent years.
Three brand-new toll lanes are being added — one heading towards Cadiz and two towards Malaga — while several existing automatic lanes will be relocated or converted to manual, and the toll canopy extended to cover the new layout.
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This means that the reworked plaza will grow to 23 physical lanes, with up to 17 able to operate simultaneously depending on demand.
The new set-up will include two dynamic lanes reserved exclusively for electronic toll tags (telepeaje), two multi-category lanes, four manual lanes and nine automatic lanes accepting cash, card and telepeaje.
There will also be 2 new reversible lanes, to deal with peak time traffic in both directions.
There will also be new safety measures including speed-reduction panels, rumble strips ahead of the toll, variable message signs, fog lighting, upgraded barriers, CCTV, and fresh road markings throughout.
The construction blueprint, drawn up by engineering firm CEMOSA in February 2026, sets out a 14-month build programme to overhaul the plaza — one of the busiest pinch points on the coastal motorway linking Malaga with the Costa del Sol’s western towns and the Gibraltar area.
The toll sits on a stretch used daily by residents living in and around Manilva, Casares, Sotogrande, San Roque and Estepona, as well as holidaymakers and second-home owners heading further along the coast towards San Pedro, Marbella and Puerto Banús.
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Anyone regularly driving the AP-7 between Malaga and Gibraltar — including the school run, work commutes or airport runs — will notice the works once they begin.
The A-377 link road connecting Casares to the motorway is also being remodelled as part of the scheme, meaning residents of Casares and the wider Casares Costa/Duquesa area should expect changes to their usual route onto the AP-7.
Average daily traffic through the toll hit almost 20,000 vehicles in 2024, but that figure ballooned to a peak of 29,709 vehicles during August. Engineers warn the bottleneck will only get worse if capacity isn’t increased.
However, there’s no suggestion the toll itself will be scrapped.
Autopistas del Sol says the 14-month build will be carried out in phases to keep traffic flowing throughout, with diversions and temporary reorganisation expected around the underpass, the toll plaza itself and the Casares-Manilva link road.
No start date has yet been confirmed.
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