Speed limits change on one of the highways with the highest volume of traffic in Spain. The Catalan Transit Service (SCT) and the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Mitma) have drawn up a plan against road accidents in the Mediterranean Highway, which includes, in addition to various control measures, the reduction of speed in some sections.
So far this year, the AP-7 sum 23 fatalities, 17% of the 135 people deceased on Catalan roads. There have also been, since January, 45 seriously injured.
The AP-7 registers more traffic and more problems since the release of tolls, in August 2021. According to data from the SCT, mobility has grown by 40% since then, while congestion due to accidents have increased by 98%.
“This coordinated intervention with the ministry allows us to act in the sections with more victims to try to reduce this accident rate, and will also reduce congestion and improve the quality of service on the AP-7”, justifies the director of the SCT, Ramon Lamiel.
Maximum speed on the AP-7: sections affected
Traffic managers in Catalonia will act in four sections of the highway totaling 82 kilometers.
- Girona, Salt-Fornells de la Selva (kilometers 47 to 66). In this four-lane section, the SCT will segregate the fourth exclusively for entrances and exits, between Girona Sud and Girona Nord. Speed in that lane will be limited to 80 km/h. “It is expected that this measure -says the SCT in a statement- will mean an ordering of traffic and a decrease in collisions” by scope.
- Valles, Mollet-Papiol section (kilometers 132 to 161). Speed will be reduced for all vehicles to 100 km/h. The Catalan Transit Service will step up speed controls and install “variable speed system”.
- Tarragona, Altafulla-Constantí section (kilometers 238 to 247). The Servei Català de Trànsit will install a section radar in those nine kilometres, heading south. The aim is to put a stop to speeding, which is very common on a straight section and on a slope, and in which there are also frequent rear-end collisions.
- Terres de l’Ebre, Calafat-l’Ampolla section (kilometers 288 to 313). Speed will be reduced for all vehicles to 100 km/h. In addition, the “specific limitations” for trucks will be maintained: limit of 80 km/h and prohibition of overtaking.
“From the beginning we have had a very good degree of collaboration with the SCT. We are aware that AP-7 is a transcendental axis mobility of the territory, so there is a need to act in order to improve the security and the functionality of the road”, assures the general secretary of Infrastructures of the Mitma, Xavier Flores.