It took 25 years for the A-7 to be completed along the Costa Tropical after a lot of promises, problems and pauses, but completed it finally was.

The topography was difficult because of unstable hillsides and valleys to be crossed but with the help of twelve tunnels and as many bridges you could drive from Adra to Nerja without having to go on the N-340.

Now, just four years after the final link up, all of the tunnels have defects: Acebuchal, Calaceite, Cantalobos, Carchuna, Fuentecilla, Gato, Gualchos, Guapa, Ítrabo, Madroño, Marchante and Ramoncillos.

In fact, Spain has 113 tunnels that do not meet the standards required by the EU and to bring them up to scratch would cost 1,053-million euros.

Each successive government has taken one look at the mammoth task and shelved it for the next one to sort out, and it looks like that this hot potato has landed firmly in the present government’s lap just as the ‘time up’ buzzer is about to ring – the 30th of April, 2019.

The defects that need sorting out centre around ventilation, lighting and signage. The trouble is that the funds needed to fix just these problems is more than the total budget for the Dirección General de Carreteras; i.e., the Department for Traffic & Roads.

The only solution is to put on hold all projected autopistas and sort out the existing problems, the downside is that you get more votes for inaugurating new ones than fixing old ones.

(News: Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)