580 million Biscay public euros "XXI. The Most Heartfelt Work of the 21st Century
- The work will build a tunnel between Getxo and Portugalete and connect the South Bilbao bypass with the AP-68.
On Thursday, the General Manager of Bizkaia, Unai Rementeria, announced two works of great size and cost. On the one hand, the connection works of the Bilbao South Bypass (Supersur) with the AP-68 motorway: From the roundabout of Artaza de Leioa to the Ballontico de Portugalete axis. And on the other hand, a tunnel of almost 3 kilometers that will connect the two sides under the valley of Bilbao.
With a budget of 320 million euros, the construction of the tunnel is expected to be completed by 2027. Although the route and characteristics of the tunnel will be detailed in the informative report before the start of the works that will be awarded next month, the idea of making two tunnels that will go side by side, one in each direction and both with a double rail has been explained.
Along with the tunnel, the project to connect Supersur with the AP-68 motorway has also been presented. The idea is to build a 4.2 kilometer road that will allow direct access to the AP-8 from the variant, they want to build a bridge without pillars and two tunnels above the protected natural area of Bolintxu. A budget of EUR 203 million will be allocated to the work, which is expected to be completed by 2023.
The aim of what Rementeria has called “the most important decision of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia in recent decades” is, according to what has been said, to alleviate the traffic problems that usually occur on the roads around Bilbao. In particular, they seek to solve traffic congestion at three points: To the bridges of the Arrondegia, to the Max Center point of sale in Barakaldo on the A-8 road and to the Artaza de Leioa road. Rentería points out that the works in Bilbao will cause changes that will be detected not only in the surroundings, but also in the mobility of the whole of Bizkaia.
“The best” for the future
The increase in tax collection and the “optimistic” forecasts that can be made if we look at the coming years says that the Provincial Council will be able to cope with this type of expenditure.However, he insisted that the fact that this project has been undertaken does not mean that in the future everything will be free in terms of works. “We need to continue setting priorities,” he said. The key here is which criteria will be used to determine what is best for the future and to set priorities.
The Black Hole of the Supersur
Several social actors and environmental groups presented the platform “Ampliación Supersur No!” on April 19. They pointed out that there is no justification for the works if they are studied in public, economically and environmentally. According to the members of the platform, “there is no shortage of road infrastructure, but a serious problem in the management of mobility as well as territorial and urban planning”.
The Bilbao South Variant, also known as Supersur, is part of this serious management problem. The motorway, which currently holds the medal of being the most expensive motorway in Spain, was presented in 2001 as a solution to the A-8 traffic jam. Although it had a budget of 465 million euros, in 2011, when the first phase of the project was inaugurated, the expenditure was 821 million euros. According to 2016 data, up to 50% of the number of vehicles originally planned do not pass through it.
AHTren aurkako protestarengatik auzipetutako bederatzi lagunen artean den Xabi Jimenezekin solastatu gara protesta ekimenaz, prozesu judizialaz eta tren lasterraren aurkako borrokaren egungo egoeraz.
