First section of Murcia A-30 bypass road to be opened in May
The rest of the road will be opened progressively between July and sometime after the summer
The Ministry of Transport is thinking about opening most of the long-awaited Northwest Arc of Murcia road bit by bit, starting in May 2025 and possibly finishing the bulk of it by July.
Two sections of this 22-kilometre bypass road, which connects the southwest of Murcia city with the A-30 autovía towards Cieza and on to Madrid, are nearly done, and the Ministry is now working out which way of putting them into service makes the most sense.
However, the trickiest bit, the big southern junction that ties everything into the A-7, MU-30 and the Northeast road, won’t be ready until after the summer. That part, say sources from the Ministry, is going to need a lot more time and another €9.2 million in extra funding to be finished.
So far, the two ideas on the table are: either open section A (from Archena to Ceutí) and a bit of section B near Las Torres de Cotillas in May, then the rest of section B and part of C in July, or wait and open all of that together in July.
Either way, drivers will have to wait until the southern junction is done before they can use the entire arc from end to end. For now, traffic from the parts that do open will have to join up with regional roads nearby.
Once it’s finished, the arc will link up Archena, Molina de Segura, Lorquí, Ceutí, Villanueva del Río Segura, Alguazas, Las Torres de Cotillas, Murcia city and Alcantarilla. The aim is to ease pressure on local roads, especially around the Espinardo junction and the busy Ronda Oeste, which currently sees over 20,000 vehicles a day.
It should also make life easier for people travelling between Cartagena and the coast, and improve connections inland between Valencia, Lorca and Andalucía.
The government is also giving the green light to another €9.1 million to help finish section C, the bit that ties several major highways together. They’re already putting up signs around the Archena link to the A-30, though most of them are still covered for now.
When it’s all finally done, with a total price tag close to €200 million, the Northwest Arc should help keep long-distance traffic out of central Murcia by rerouting it away from the A-30 and A-7 bypasses.
Images: Ministerio de Transportes y Movilidad Sostenible
