Temporary Third Lane For N332 In Torrevieja ?

[Carl]

Interesting informal proposal, although if this 'temporary' third lane does materialise and it alleviates congestion, then the pressure to dual the N332 lessens. Maybe the 'temporary' arrangement might become permanent and dualling the N332 is then shelved ?

https://www.informacion.es/vega-baja/20 ... 33151.html

Google translate, minus images:

They propose a temporary third lane on the most congested section of the N-332 in Torrevieja until the road is doubled.

The initiative seeks to alleviate congestion on a road that can handle up to 55,000 vehicles daily in summer, given the certainty that the works are not imminent.

The widening works on the N-332 bypass through Torrevieja are not imminent. While political party representatives have entered the annual summer cycle of assigning blame for a delay that has now lasted more than two decades, and the Ministry of Transport remains, once again, unable to issue an official statement, an informal proposal has been circulating calling for the implementation of a third temporary lane, in both directions (Alicante and Cartagena), depending on traffic volume. This proposal comes from professionals who work on the road daily. The measure could alleviate congestion on a road that, with only one lane in each direction, can handle up to 55,000 vehicles daily on peak days in July and August, according to traffic flow maps from the Ministry of Transport.

The lack of capacity of the road also affects the rest of the main access roads to Torrevieja, with the CV-95 being the most obvious case, but also the CV-905, through the entry and exit lanes of these roads with the N-332, which, being saturated, cause traffic jams on both roads.

Seven meters

The documentation for the bypass duplication project indicates that the current roadbed, built in the 1980s, has two 3.5-meter-wide lanes, for a total of 7 meters of roadway. To this width, at least one meter of shoulder must be added on each side. With only 7 meters of roadway, three conventional 3.5-meter lanes are not possible. This current configuration allows traffic jams to avoid completely blocking the passage of emergency vehicles, such as fire trucks, and especially ambulances, which frequently use this road to access the Torrevieja University Hospital. The shoulders also allow motorcyclists, although currently still an illegal maneuver, to easily overtake on the right and avoid congestion. However, any temporary third lane would require utilizing part of the shoulders and redesigning the entire roadbed, necessitating a prior technical assessment of road safety.

To incorporate three conventional lanes while maintaining the usual width, 10.5 meters of lane space alone would be needed. Beyond that, rainwater drainage, clearances, lateral safety, and access adaptations would have to be considered. Simply repainting the existing road markings would not suffice, although it would also be in no way comparable, in cost and timeframe, to the complete road duplication project, whose budget for 4.47 kilometers exceeds 50 million euros.

The example of Orihuela Costa

The professionals who put forward this proposal point out that, a little further south, on the N-332 parkway as it passes through Orihuela Costa, with two lanes in each direction, there are currently hardly any shoulders. From a road safety perspective, its functionality has not been questioned since it was opened. That section was built in the late 2000s, when much of the road's verges were already occupied by access roads to commercial and residential areas, leaving very limited shoulders.

Security measures

This wouldn't be the first time the Directorate General of Highways has taken extraordinary measures on the eight-kilometer Torrevieja bypass. Since 2010, following a series of serious accidents with fatalities, vertical signage has been reinforced to prevent confusion among drivers. In some sections, especially between the Quirón Hospital and Ozone, the road's configuration could lead drivers to believe it was a one-way road, which caused serious accidents.

The road authority also installed flashing lights to warn of potential rear-end collisions, prohibited overtaking across double solid lines on the eight-kilometer stretch in 2014, and designated the most congested section — the one running alongside the San Roque and Villa Amalia residential areas, south of the town center — as an accident blackspot. Since then, the number of serious accidents has decreased in proportion to the increase in rear-end collisions: drivers who encounter traffic jams and don't have time to brake.

Up to Quirón

According to data from the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT ), congestion has been a daily occurrence this summer on the bypass and has been getting worse. Heading towards Cartagena, the traffic jam typically started at the on-ramp to the N-332 from the Ozone-IMF shopping area. However, on some specific days this summer, the queue stretched for the first time along the entire eight-kilometer stretch to the Quirón Hospital. While not a complete gridlock, traffic was slow and continuous throughout the entire route. The implementation of the nearby and controversial AI-controlled "smart" traffic light system at the Punta Prima-Rocío del Mar roundabout, located at the first roundabout south of the Torrevieja bypass, has also contributed to the problem. This experimental project by the Ministry of Transport represents an investment of €400,000.

Added to this pressure is the practice of some residents of the San Roque area of ​​parking vehicles on the N-332 exit road itself, due to the lack of parking in these neighborhoods of Torrevieja located on the second line of the Acequión and Los Náufragos beaches.

The Civil Guard Traffic Unit has experience in the temporary adaptation of high-capacity roads with temporary lanes. Access routes to major cities during weekends or special holiday periods are a common example of this type of solution.