The Provincial Council of Almeria continues to fine-tune the Provincial Road Network with projects to further improve the signalling and safety and protection systems of its more than 1,200 kilometres. The maintenance work is in addition to the significant investment being made by the Provincial Institution to eliminate trouble spots and improve road surfaces and layouts.
The Governing Board has already approved the projects for the painting of roads, the installation of new signs and protective barriers on the Provincial Road Network, both new and to replace those that have been damaged.
Specifically, the project ‘Horizontal Signalling in the Provincial Road Network of Almeria’ will involve the renewal of the painting of more than 130 kilometres of roads. Road markings are one of the most important factors affecting road safety, especially in adverse weather conditions with fog or rain. The maintenance of these elements is considered of special interest, both in new pavements and in the repainting of existing road markings.
Likewise, the Diputación has planned to replace and install a total of 700 vertical signs on the Provincial Road Network which will further improve the safety of the roads managed by the Provincial Council.
On the other hand, the Provincial Council is going to execute two contracts for the installation of safety barriers on new stretches of road and the replacement of sections of bollards which have been hit by vehicles. In total, work will be carried out on more than six kilometres of the road network, both in the south and the north.
The safety barriers not only serve to mark out the roads, but are also protective elements which aim to prevent:
- Falls down steep slopes
- Impact with other vehicles and obstacles
- Encroachment on other traffic lanes
The vice-president and deputy for Public Works, Ángel Escobar, assured that these four actions will represent an investment of around half a million euros: “These are fundamental works which aim to maintain the roads and which are in addition to the roadside cleaning works which we have been carrying out throughout the summer on the roads of the Poniente, the metropolitan area and also in the region of Níjar and Levante”, he explained.
Escobar also explained that the Provincial Council has begun work to renew the mapping of the 1,200 kilometres of the Provincial Road Network. This documentation is necessary for the preparation of projects, preliminary studies, works and management of road sections. This work requires a photogrammetric flight, topographic support and the restitution of photogrammetric information.
More than 20 million in roads for the four-year period 2020-23
This half a million euros is part of the more than 20 million euros that the Provincial Council will invest in roads between 2020 and 2023.
On the one hand, the 2020-23 Road Plan consists of 17.2 million euros for specific road improvement projects, to which 4.5 million euros are being added for the maintenance and upkeep of provincial roads.
The works, which will reach their halfway point this year, will be carried out on more than 240 kilometres of different sections of provincial roads, benefiting all road users and, specifically, 63 municipalities.
Escobar stressed that “we are implementing the most ambitious Road Plan in the history of the Provincial Council with initiatives that will benefit all Almeria residents. The improvements to our roads increase safety, facilitate communication between towns and villages and help to fix the population in the municipalities of the province.
The Provincial Road Network is consolidating itself as the best route for the practice of outdoor sports. In particular, the roads of Bajo Andarax, Filabres-Alhamilla, Níjar and Levante have seen an increase in cyclist traffic over the last two years.