Catalan Truck Protests on Thursday

If you’re driving through Catalonia on Thursday, you may find your journey delayed, as truckers hold protests at various locations across the 4 provinces.

The truckers are complaining over enforced routes that take them off the main road network and onto the faster, but more expensive, toll roads.

The Catalan government enforced the restrictions from September, prohibiting the movement of trucks through the N-340 and N-240 national roads in the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida and Barcelona, forcing a diversion to the toll motorway AP-7 and AP-2 respectively.

This is in addition to the restriction in force since April 2013 in the province of Girona, which prohibits the movement of trucks on the N-II and the compulsory detour to the AP-7.

In all cases the trucks are offered a discount on the toll roads, however this discount is not even 50% of the total price.

In addition to the restrictions on the main road network, since the start of the summer, Barcelona city council also prohibited trucks of more than 18 tons by the Ronda del Litoral (B-10) and the Ronda de Dalt (B-20) with other restrictions in different areas too.

The truckers are protesting all of these measures, with “absolute rejection and indignation”, according to the hauliers associations who agreed the action earlier this week.

The protests will be in the form of protest marches and slow moving trucks on Thursday 11 October, from 17:00, that will be coordinated to affect the following roads:

In Barcelona, the exit from the Port from the Ronda Litoral (B-10) and AP-7 in the direction of Ruby.

In Girona, the N-II until the change of direction of the C-25 and up the toll of the AP-7 in Girona Nord and the C-66 towards Banyoles.

In Tarragona, the A-7, N-340 and AP-7.

In Lleida, the N-240 and AP-2.