Drivers were stuck on the Ponent motorway for more than an hour

Road works on the Ponent motorway caused tailbacks of more than an hour on the C-719 (Palma to Andraitx road) and the motorway. The news desk was swamped with calls from irate drivers complaining about the delays which started to build up at about 2pm, as a result of work to build a new link with Bendinat. Tailbacks started to build up in the morning, but by the afternoon, the queues of vehicles heading for Palma stretched for five kilometres. One driver said that he had left Peguera at 3.30pm for Palma, and one hour later he was stuck at the Illetas junction, a trip which usually takes less than half an hour. Drivers from Costa den Blanes also took an hour to reach Palma. By 6pm, the tailbacks reached the Costa de la Calma. Only one of the two lanes of the motorway to Palma was in use. A roads department spokesman said that the road works had been inevitable. The motorway carries an average of 67'570 vehicles a day, while more than 42'000 use the C-719. Delays are frequent, but not to the extent of yesterday.