The Central Government kept its promise and the Taramay-Guadalfeo opened on time on the 26th of June.

Ten splendid kilometres of autovía running elegantly through one endless tunnel and over a couple of bridges laying between where the eastbound A-7 used to end in Taramay, Almuñécar, and the northbound A-44 close to Lobres.

After much protest, Lobres got its access junction, which will be used by anybody coming from the west that wants to reach Salobreña… and even Motril until the Gorgoracha-Puntalón section is finished.

The more cynical might consider that it could have been opened earlier, but that it would have coincided with the European Elections when inaugural events are not permitted but we do not share that view.

When we say that the Central Government kept its promise, we refer, of course, to just the latest one – there have been previous ones that have fizzled out.

For example, our Front-Page headline in the October 2013 edition reads, “More A-7 Pledges.” The article says that the Minister promised that this particular section would be ready before 2013 was finished, and that the Gorgoracha-Puntalón section would be open for February 2014 – in reality, as far as this latter section is concerned, we’re now looking at 2015.

The previous Minister in the socialist Government, José Blanco had promised in 2009 that it would be finished in 2012 with a socialist Central Government at the helm… he was wrong on both counts…

But the A-7 now links up with the A-44; three cheers, hooray although God knows the residents of Costa Tropical have been very patient. In six minutes you can reach the A-44 via the A-7 – what normally takes 16 minutes on the N-340 and much, much longer with summer traffic, of course.

And it hasn’t been cheap, costing 24.6m euros per kilometre; in other words, 246.3m euros. Most of the problems belong to the 2-km-long tunnel – the second longest in Andalucía – with water seeping in. It cost an extra 30m to sort that out.

However, Ladies and Gentlemen, if you live in Almuñécar and want to go to Motril or Salobreña, it’s quicker to stay on the N-340, because otherwise you have to leave the A-7 at Lobres, following the windy B-road to the main road and then drive down to the coast.

(News: Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)