Transport

Inca motorway work finished but major traffic problems persist

The Inca motorway with third lane extensions. | Melchor Mascaro

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma16/08/2017 00:00

Work on creating a third lane on a stretch of the Palma-Inca motorway has been finished. The work has taken a year and has cost 2.6 million euros. It has been between Al Campo and Festival Park and has added a total of 5.7 kilometres of lane, slightly more of this in the Palma direction than in the other.

The lanes themselves were ready in early July. Additional work was then undertaken on installing noise barriers and on improving the Marratxi exit and entrance. The Council of Majorca roads department says that the extensions of the third lanes will help with traffic movement, but there are other parts of the motorway that need addressing. One is where it meets the Via Cintura, and others are for the Son Castello and Son Fuster junctions. In addition, there is the separate issue of the Llucmajor motorway's Via Cintura connection.

These matters have been raised at Council of Majorca sessions. Mercedes Garrido, the councillor for land, has acknowledged that the Via Cintura is heavily congested and that even minor accidents can bring it to a standstill. The Council is therefore working on a plan for mobility in the Palma metropolitan area. This requires discussions with the four town halls affected - Palma, Calvia, Marratxi and Llucmajor. Up for consideration are park-and-ride schemes and a specific lane for public transport.