The outer bypass for Granada will finally be inaugurated later today after just over 20 years from project to completion.

Some of you will remember before the existing bypass was built, when you had to go through the centre of Granada to reach Jaén and further north.

When this original bypass was built, it quickly became congested because the residents use it as a short cut to reach the other end of the city, nipping out onto the bypass and then back in again – something not contemplated by the designers, perhaps.

Then at the end of the 90s it was decided to build an outer bypass, which would do the job that the first one was intended for – a way to avoid the city traffic completely. However, in 1999 the Ministry of Public Works (Aznar’s conservative government) decided that it was not necessary and because of the adverse affect on the environment that it might have.

In 2002, despite renewed calls for the bypass, Minister Álvarez Cascos (PP) kicked the can down the road and announced that he would pass the project on to the Ministry of the Environment to decide. The project at that time was a section between Santa Fe and Otura to be completed in six years.

In 2004, Minister Cascos allotted a budget of just 5,000 euros, which attracted a veritable bombardment of criticism for such a ridiculously low budget; he would later recognise that the budget would be closer to 100m euros.

In 2007 with a budget 39m euros under a socialist (PSOE) government, a section between Calicasas and Albolote was built and put into service.

But then came the economic crisis of 2008 and the bypass went into hibernation, missing the 2013 completion date. Since then there have been changes to the project with three applied during 2019 to the Albolote-Santa Fe section.

In April this year there was another change to the project, adding a further 10m euros to the costs, which means that the total amount spent on the second bypass has been 213m euros.

So, today, finally, the Segunda Circunvalación will be inaugurated! – Happy driving!

(News: Granada, Andalucia)