Pedestrians Prohibited From Using Bridge Over N332 To/From La Hoya
Posted: 21 May 2026 20:33
https://www.informacion.es/vega-baja/20 ... 84689.html
Google translate, minus video and images:
Torrevieja prohibits pedestrian traffic across the La Hoya bridge over the N-332
Pedestrians continue to use the makeshift dirt paths without sidewalks between the embankment and the road barrier after the signs were installed, but this allows the municipality, which owns the infrastructure, to avoid liability in the event of an accident.
The Torrevieja City Council has installed signs prohibiting pedestrian access on the bridge connecting the La Hoya residential area with Monge y Bielsa, Delfina Viudes, and Cortes Valencianas avenues. According to the Councilor for Traffic, Federico Alarcón, the City Council acted after receiving a notification from the Ministry of Transport's regional road service indicating an increase in vehicular traffic on the bridge and that its use by pedestrians could be dangerous. Since the bridge, which has one lane in each direction, is under municipal jurisdiction, the City Council is responsible for the signage. According to the councilor, the notification was received by the Urban Planning Department on April 14th.
Responsibility
The installation of the four signs, one on each side of the road in both directions, took place last Wednesday, just two days after INFORMACIÓN published on May 10 how pedestrians use that narrow path between the bridge embankment and the guardrails to cross the section, with very precarious accessibility and some points exposed to falls of more than eight meters and also onto the road.
Traffic
This increase in traffic is due to the opening of the Phase I roads of the macro-urbanization, used by drivers arriving or leaving via the CV-905 and using them to access the northeast area of the urban center, thus avoiding traffic jams in the center.
Traffic volume is also higher due to the arrival of the first residents of La Hoya — which will have capacity for 7,400 homes when completed — as well as the more than 200 employees of a real estate company and the hundreds of workers who commute daily to the residential blocks and commercial areas under construction. This area was already frequently used by students from local schools and users of the Sports Palace for pedestrian access. The signs are not being respected. Users don't even seem to realize they've been installed.
Regardless of the fact that no pedestrian experienced in "overcoming" this pedestrian path and saving themselves hundreds of meters of walking is respecting the signs, the City Council does manage with this installation to warn and take for granted that it is no longer responsible in case of an accident.
A funnel
Since the first phase of the development was completed, the bridge has been carrying traffic from roads with two lanes in each direction. This was already happening at the other end, near the IES Mare Nostrum school. The developer of the residential complex is responsible for doubling the bridge deck and adapting it for pedestrian traffic, where congestion is already becoming noticeable. During peak hours, vehicles are already stuck in traffic, and the widespread use of personal mobility vehicles such as scooters and bicycles exacerbates the road's lack of capacity.
It is still unclear whether it will be carried out in the next phase of the urbanization of the 1,800,000 square meters of the urban plan, because these works are delayed by differences between the City Council, which supervises that the plan is executed as approved and the urban developer, which is the one that must finance and build the basic services, since last August 2025, when the first phase was officially received by the City Council.
Two million euros
The bridge duplication project has a cost of €2.5 million and involves widening the existing bridge deck, which currently has one lane in each direction, to two lanes, as well as adding a pedestrian walkway and installing lighting. However, before the developer responsible for financing and carrying out the work can proceed, the Torrevieja City Council, which owns the bridge, must complete administrative procedures and coordinate with the Directorate General of Highways of the Ministry of Transport . This process has yet to begin. Furthermore, the bridge will not be built until Phase III of the urban development project is completed, and current timelines indicate that the infrastructure will not be operational before mid-2027.
In the negotiations between the municipality and the Temporary Business Association that makes up the urban development company, which includes the main landowners, the possibility of bringing forward the construction of the pedestrian walkway before the duplication of traffic lanes is being considered.
Dangerous
Without sidewalks for pedestrians, crossing the bridge on foot is seriously dangerous, although residents and students from the nearby IES Mare Nostrum do so daily. The roadway has no shoulders. Between the unprotected embankment of the bridge, with a drop of more than seven meters, and the guardrails of each lane, there is a small dirt path, without municipal maintenance, used as a crossing despite the obvious risk on the upper section — which lacks a railing — that overlooks the N-332 highway itsel. Meanwhile, the local council continues, week after week, to authorize major construction permits for housing on various plots in Phase I of the development. Commercial areas are also being built, such as the Bauhaus store next to José Carreras Avenue.
Google translate, minus video and images:
Torrevieja prohibits pedestrian traffic across the La Hoya bridge over the N-332
Pedestrians continue to use the makeshift dirt paths without sidewalks between the embankment and the road barrier after the signs were installed, but this allows the municipality, which owns the infrastructure, to avoid liability in the event of an accident.
The Torrevieja City Council has installed signs prohibiting pedestrian access on the bridge connecting the La Hoya residential area with Monge y Bielsa, Delfina Viudes, and Cortes Valencianas avenues. According to the Councilor for Traffic, Federico Alarcón, the City Council acted after receiving a notification from the Ministry of Transport's regional road service indicating an increase in vehicular traffic on the bridge and that its use by pedestrians could be dangerous. Since the bridge, which has one lane in each direction, is under municipal jurisdiction, the City Council is responsible for the signage. According to the councilor, the notification was received by the Urban Planning Department on April 14th.
Responsibility
The installation of the four signs, one on each side of the road in both directions, took place last Wednesday, just two days after INFORMACIÓN published on May 10 how pedestrians use that narrow path between the bridge embankment and the guardrails to cross the section, with very precarious accessibility and some points exposed to falls of more than eight meters and also onto the road.
Traffic
This increase in traffic is due to the opening of the Phase I roads of the macro-urbanization, used by drivers arriving or leaving via the CV-905 and using them to access the northeast area of the urban center, thus avoiding traffic jams in the center.
Traffic volume is also higher due to the arrival of the first residents of La Hoya — which will have capacity for 7,400 homes when completed — as well as the more than 200 employees of a real estate company and the hundreds of workers who commute daily to the residential blocks and commercial areas under construction. This area was already frequently used by students from local schools and users of the Sports Palace for pedestrian access. The signs are not being respected. Users don't even seem to realize they've been installed.
Regardless of the fact that no pedestrian experienced in "overcoming" this pedestrian path and saving themselves hundreds of meters of walking is respecting the signs, the City Council does manage with this installation to warn and take for granted that it is no longer responsible in case of an accident.
A funnel
Since the first phase of the development was completed, the bridge has been carrying traffic from roads with two lanes in each direction. This was already happening at the other end, near the IES Mare Nostrum school. The developer of the residential complex is responsible for doubling the bridge deck and adapting it for pedestrian traffic, where congestion is already becoming noticeable. During peak hours, vehicles are already stuck in traffic, and the widespread use of personal mobility vehicles such as scooters and bicycles exacerbates the road's lack of capacity.
It is still unclear whether it will be carried out in the next phase of the urbanization of the 1,800,000 square meters of the urban plan, because these works are delayed by differences between the City Council, which supervises that the plan is executed as approved and the urban developer, which is the one that must finance and build the basic services, since last August 2025, when the first phase was officially received by the City Council.
Two million euros
The bridge duplication project has a cost of €2.5 million and involves widening the existing bridge deck, which currently has one lane in each direction, to two lanes, as well as adding a pedestrian walkway and installing lighting. However, before the developer responsible for financing and carrying out the work can proceed, the Torrevieja City Council, which owns the bridge, must complete administrative procedures and coordinate with the Directorate General of Highways of the Ministry of Transport . This process has yet to begin. Furthermore, the bridge will not be built until Phase III of the urban development project is completed, and current timelines indicate that the infrastructure will not be operational before mid-2027.
In the negotiations between the municipality and the Temporary Business Association that makes up the urban development company, which includes the main landowners, the possibility of bringing forward the construction of the pedestrian walkway before the duplication of traffic lanes is being considered.
Dangerous
Without sidewalks for pedestrians, crossing the bridge on foot is seriously dangerous, although residents and students from the nearby IES Mare Nostrum do so daily. The roadway has no shoulders. Between the unprotected embankment of the bridge, with a drop of more than seven meters, and the guardrails of each lane, there is a small dirt path, without municipal maintenance, used as a crossing despite the obvious risk on the upper section — which lacks a railing — that overlooks the N-332 highway itsel. Meanwhile, the local council continues, week after week, to authorize major construction permits for housing on various plots in Phase I of the development. Commercial areas are also being built, such as the Bauhaus store next to José Carreras Avenue.