Not only is there to be no coastal autovía (A-7) this year or next, but come September, the province will lose the Granada-coast autovía (A-44)

The bridge over the Rules reservoir is sinking, so just as soon as the summer traffic slackens, the section between Ízbor and Vélez-Benaudalla will be closed for between three to six months to carry out repair work on the the supporting pillars of the bridge at the northern end.

Readers will remember that the opening of the said section of the autovía was delayed because of precisely the same problem – one of the pillars was sinking into the bed of the reservoir, so another one had to be built along side and the faulty one dismantled.

The Ministry of Public Works (Fomento) assures the road users that the bridge is perfectly safe to used until the section is cut.

The N-323 will have to take the diverted traffic down to the coast. Drivers can get back onto the autovía at Vélez-Benaudalla but there really seems little point, so most driver will opt to reach the coast through the Azud de Vélez canyon.

The N-323 is in a pretty poor shape, itself, with one lane closed where it has subsides just before Ízbor and a very dangerous bend opposite the reservoir, but as the alternative would mean detouring through Lanjarón and Órgiva and from there to Velez-Benaudalla, as the only practical choice.

(News: Izbor/Velez, A-44, Granada, Andalucia)