Málaga industrial estates: link road still without a date. Traffic study commissioned

A long-awaited road project to improve access to the Guadalhorce industrial estate in Málaga still has no firm date, and Diario Sur reports that it is advancing very slowly. The scheme matters to the businesses based in the city's industrial estates, which have demanded better road links for years.

Key facts

• The project: a new road extending calle Joaquín Vargas northwards, linking it to the old Cártama road and the Hiperronda, according to Diario Sur.
• Origin: it forms part of the Vial Distribuidor, approved by the Junta de Andalucía 17 years ago.
• Traffic study: the city's mobility department has awarded it to the firm Doymo for €26,669, with a five-month drafting period.
• Timetable: none has been set, and Diario Sur says full delivery could take several more years.

A project revived after years on the shelf

The Vial Distribuidor was designed to connect the current second ring road (now the A-7) with Churriana, Alhaurín de la Torre and the industrial areas of the capital, passing north of the airport runways. Diario Sur says the plan was shelved but returned to the Andalusian government's agenda after demands from Apoma, the association of Málaga's industrial and commercial parks, and after repeated meetings between the ayuntamiento (town hall) and the regional transport department.

According to the Gerencia Municipal de Urbanismo, the town hall's planning department, coordination has moved forward on a first phase, given budget difficulties. This would link avenida Joaquín Vargas with the western section of the Vial Distribuidor. It would give the Guadalhorce estate a more direct route to the A-7 and ease congestion in the estate and surrounding roads. The department said this matches the partial approach Apoma has proposed.

The town hall says it has not given up on the full road from Churriana to La Huertecilla. It is developing the project for the extension of avenida Joaquín Vargas, which lies within its remit, and it remains in contact with the Junta over the parts that fall to the regional government.

Diario Sur notes that an unfinished bridge was built years ago over the high-speed rail line near the La Huertecilla estate, which should make the work considerably easier.

Latest step: a traffic study

The town hall's mobility department has awarded a traffic study for the Trévenez industrial estate area. It asks specifically for analysis of extending calle Joaquín Vargas to avenida de Ortega y Gasset and how it would relate to the A-7 and A-357. Doymo's bid was 45% below the tender budget, a reduction the firm justified, according to Diario Sur.

Apoma argues the road would act as an entry and exit valve that eases rush-hour congestion. It also sees it as a safety measure in case of evacuations due to flooding or other events.

Opposition criticism

Toni Morillas, deputy spokesperson of the opposition group Con Málaga, said the situation shows neglect of roads that fall under the Andalusian government. She criticised what she called the "hipocresía política" of the Partido Popular for demanding infrastructure investment from central government while the Junta keeps strategic projects "paralizados y sin dotación presupuestaria".

Morillas said a first phase is a "reducción sustancial" of the original scope. She also warned: "Sin presupuesto, calendario ni compromisos verificables, existe el riesgo real de que esta solución provisional se prolongue de forma indefinida."

She also pointed to the delayed dual carriageway on the A-7054, the old Cártama road, which she said has daily traffic jams and about 5,000 homes being built alongside it. According to Morillas, the Junta declined to fund that project, so the town hall updated the technical design, with an estimated cost of €33 million. Con Málaga wants both the Junta and the town hall to publish firm funding commitments and clear tendering timetables.

What it means for the area

For businesses and workers at the Guadalhorce estate, relief from congestion depends on decisions still to come. The traffic study, due in about five months from its award, is the next concrete step reported.