Santa Ponsa turn off opened to traffic

Balearic leader Francesc Antich, accompanied by his public works minister Francesc Quetglas, and Council of Majorca president María Antonia Munar, officially opened the Santa Ponsa turn off on the Palma to Andratx motorway. Improvements at the intersection will not be completed until the month of October, but Quetglas said that by opening it to traffic now, “it will help the flow of traffic at a conflictive junction which in summer has a volume of cars which makes it one of the busiest not only in Majorca but in the whole of Europe.” The improvements to the turn off to Santa Ponsa have meant the construction of a tunnel at a point used by an average of 40'000 vehicles a day, according to government figures. The design is in line with the concept of road networks promoted by the ministry. Work has cost four million euros and will be complemented next year by plans to widen the road. This will be paid for by the Balearic government because, Quetglas said, the central ministry refuses to finance roads which do not tie in with their model of roads networks. Munar said it fitted in with its aims of solving the problem of island roads.