Palmanova-Paguera stretch of motorway ready by June

Joan Collins THE Balearic Ministry of Public Works estimates that the work currently in progress to extend the motorway from Palmanova to Paguera will be finished in June. This stretch of the motorway is 9'000 metres long and the work has cost 49 million euros. The Balearic Minister for Public Works, Mabel Cabrer, yesterday visited the site of the works which consists of widening the existing road which links Palmanova and Paguera. However, there will be a stretch of 1'200 metres of new road, which will take it away from the residential area. These works will replace the C-719 road which links Palmanova and Paguera at the moment. This road carries up to 30'000 vehicles daily and, according the the Minister, is “one of the black spots of the road network” from their point of view. The junction of this road with the PM-1, which connects Palma and Palmanova, creates “continuous long delays” at the point where the two roads join. This is mainly due to the changing of lanes required which increases the risk of accidents, according to the figures released by the Ministry of Public Works. With the construction of this motorway, the Ministry hopes to increase “the free flow of traffic” in this part of the road network and at the same time “reduce the high incidence of accidents” which happen on it. They also hope to avoid risky situations by having “sufficient lanes and links to handle the high density” of traffic. The motorway will have four links at different levels which will connect with Cala Figuera, Santa Ponsa, Costa de la Calma and Paguera. During her visit yesterday, the Minister opened a branch of the motorway in the north of Paguera which allows access to this area for vehicles travelling from Andratx to Palma. According to the Ministry, until now this exit only allowed access to Paguera to those vehicles travelling towards Andratx from Palma. The new branch road connects with a roundabout which makes it possible to connect with the Es Capdella road and a second roundabout which allows vehicles to access Peguera. This new road, which is 300 metres long, will be signed in yellow because it is awaiting its final surfacing which will be carried out at the end of the rest of the work.