Phew! There are so many points that are relevant that it will be a difficult squeeze to get them all in, but first off, let’s start with the history behind the A-44, Bailén – Motril autovía, or as the Madrid minister announced, the autovía de la Costa Tropical… which is both a snub and a concession in itself.
Work physically began on the Granada-Motril part of the autovía in July 1998, with the commencement of the Alhendín – Dúral section. Before this section came into use, motorists always encountered huge bottleneck tailbacks upon coming to the Circumvaliación (ring road) at Armilla, where the coastal main road began. The Ministry claimed that Dúrcal would be reached and operative by the end of 2000; a claim that was later modified to the end of 2001.
In December 1999, however, the first stone was laid on the Dúrcal – Ízbor stretch, even as the first section was still undergoing construction. The promised completion date was 2003. In March 2001, the Alhendín – Dúrcal section was inaugurated. Only six months later, however, one of the viaducts in that section had to be closed for repairs.
Then, in a spurt of productivity, the Dúrcal – Ízbor section was finished eight months ahead of schedule, in March 2002. In 2003, probably inebriated by this success, an MP in the Andaluz Parliament announced that the whole lot – right down to Motril – would be finished by 2005. Wrong! More cautiously, in July of 2004, the then minister, Magdelena Álverez, announced a total completion date of 2008… Wrong again!
Most of us remember, when in May of 2006, the work on the Ízbor – Vélez section ground to a halt when pillars holding up the metal bridge over the Rules Dam began to sink. Oops! It was only around the middle of last month that the bridge was finally pronounced ‘fit for duty’ – not before carrying out a load test consisting of parking over a hundred lorries on it. It was this bridge that was holding up the official opening of the entire autovía.
Even though this section was the last to be completed, it was not the southern-most extremity: a section between the Motril flyover and the Sud de Vélez was hastily opened – complete with two surprising roundabouts – so that an electoral promise could be kept. It is worth pointing out, though, that this part; i.e. the part incorporating the two roundabouts, is not technically ‘autovía.’ The autovía finishes at Lobres where it will eventually connect up with the A-7 autovía (Málaga – Almería). The last bit down to the Motril flyover is merely a twin-laned main road, apparently.
Now, that’s the history of it, and I am just as sick and tired as you are of these details, so let’s move on to A-44 But No A-7 (III). /