Major backlash in Murcia, the Orihuela Costa and Malaga after AP-7 tolls scrapped in Alicante
The neighbouring regions are “outraged” that the southbound road continues to have some of the most expensive tolls in Spain
Spain’s Ministry of Transport is coming under fire from all directions after announcing earlier this week that tolls on the AP-7 ring road around Alicante city would be eliminated for the summer season. This is good news for commuters and visitors to Alicante, but residents of the Orihuela Costa, Murcia and Málaga are “outraged” at the government’s decision not to scrap motorway charges further south.
There was major confusion on Monday July 15 when Minister of Transport Oscar Puente announced that he was going to liberalise the AP-7 towards Alicante, with many assuming this would include the heavily travelled stretch of road down the coast of Murcia and into Almería. However, it quickly became clear that the only free section will be between Monforte del Cid and El Campello, outside Alicante city itself.
Within hours of the statement, the Orihuela Town Council team expressed its displeasure at what it considers “a new snub” by the Ministry by continuing to ignore the “historic” requests of residents and visitors to the Orihuela Costa regarding the free AP-7.
This is the only stretch of road in the Valencian Community that continues to be tolled and it’s one of the most expensive in the country, with a charge of almost 5 euros in Los Montesinos and the same again in La Zenia to cover just 13 kilometres of road.
The stretch travelling south, between La Zenia and Cartagena, has been toll free for some time now, but the hefty overall cost means that only around 6,000 vehicles per day use the motorway.
Anyone flying into Alicante Airport and heading to the Orihuela Costa, Murcia or the Costa del Sol either has to fork out for the charges, or face the highly congested N-332 dual carriageway, which has also been waiting several years for improvements.
Further rubbing salt in the wound is the relentless refusal of the government to free the Marbella toll motorway, which has become the priciest in Spain. However, a meeting is scheduled for Wednesday July 17 between the local Málaga government and Ministry, during which Marbella mayor Ángeles Muñoz is confident that the toll on the Costa del Sol Highway “can be subsidised and an agreement can be reached so that the company reduces it to a lower amount.”
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Image: Ayuntamiento de Orihuela
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