Work on widening the road above the Paseo del Altillo will start within a month. This first phase will only go as far as the Fenicio statue; i.e., where the paseo bars end.

The works only go that far, as opposed to all the way to the Peñon del Santo, because the Town Hall has still not received permission from the Madrid-based coastal authorities.

The first phase will begin in a month’s time, yet the work is expected to be completed before Semana Santa, which begins in the last week of March.

Going on recent experience of road works not finishing on time and running into bank holiday weekends, the summer or Christmas holidays, this could be considered risky.

As for the second phase, the town planners envisage a sort of overhang arrangement over the beach in order to fit in two way traffic and a pedestrian pavement. Judging by today’s gales and high seas and the damage that they have wrought In La Herradura and Paseo de Reina Sofía in Almuñécar, readers might wonder whether that is wise, too.

Back to the Paseo Altillo, the existing road surface is in a bad shape, despite having only been laid seven years ago. A similar state can be found on the upper part of Avenida de Andalucia, laid even more recently. Worryingly, this is the same sort of road surface that has recently been laid on the lower half of the same avenue and Plaza Madrid.

So where’s the money coming from? Almuñécar received 3m euros as part of the money gained by extending the extra tax (canon) on the water bill. In other words, from the same source that has financed all recent works on Avenida de Andalucía etc.

Lastly, the Mayor, Trinidad Herrera, has explained that they have envisaged 2-way traffic between the Paseo del Altillo and El Penón del Santo when the first phase is finished, even though the second one hasn’t begun, using traffic lights at both ends.

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)