Study Called for N-332 Road to be Buried

A local councillor representing the socialist PSOE party in Orihuela, María García, has announced that her group will table a motion to the local government´s monthly meeting in May, to propose that the Ministry of Public Works studies the possibility of partially or totally diverting sections of the N-332, as it passes through eastern coast, through a series of underground tunnels.

García has noted that in recent years there have been numerous victims of road traffic incidents in the area, many of which have been fatal, “not only in Orihuela, but also Gata de Gorgos, Benissa and Santa Pola, where similar motions to improve road safety and alleviate the acoustic and traffic problems of this road have already been tabled.”

The councillor has stated that it is time to claim investments for Orihuela, “proposing the solution that has long been proposed in various forums: the total or partial burial of the N-332 as it passes through the Oriol coast”, in such a way as to, “allow transverse permeability between residential areas and mitigate the security problems that exist today.”

The N-332 as it passes through Orihuela has already undergone a major transformation, through a huge investment, to make the road two-lanes in each direction, although many areas are still lacking adequate crossing points for pedestrians. In neighbouring Torrevieja, the road is still a single lane and causes major delays at peak times due to the volume of traffic. For over a decade this section had supposed to have been widened, but largely political failings have led to that, so far, never materialising.

Update: In the plenary meeting held on the 25th of May, all political groups, with the exception of the PSOE, opposed the application for any kind of review or study in relation to this. As the PSOE do not have a majority in the council, the notion was rejected.