Palma calls on local government to help fund new road project

Palma City Council yesterday approved a new set of projects in order to ease traffic in and around the capital and improve access to a number of areas, but the local authority says that Balearic government funding is needed. The council yesterday asked the local government for 9'100 million pesetas to help cover a major overhaul of the municipality's road network. Councillor for Infrastructure, José María Rodriguez, unveiled the plan yesterday morning, just hours after it was approved by the City Hall. Rodriguez said that the city council intends to make full use of the subsidies the Balearic Ministry for Public Works makes available for road improvement projects. The councillor said that the project is vital “to improve the quality of life in the municipality” and that the city council is not afraid to run in to further debt, “providing the Balearic government will guarantee that funding will be forthcoming in the future.” Rodríguez said that for this year, the local government has only set aside 2'000 million pesetas for road improvement subsidies, but the city councillor did not rule out the government increasing the size of the budget over the next few years. One of the most ambitious projects unveiled yesterday was the construction of new access roads to the Son Castello industrial estate. Traffic in the area comes to a standstill during rush hour, spilling out on to the via cintura. The council yesterday approved 13 main projects, including a 1'600 million peseta road linking the industrial estate with Son Fuster. A number of new walkways and new pedestrianised access routes are also planned in order to increase pedestrian safety.