The Development Ministry insists it hopes to launch a tender for the first phase of works on the North Round before the end of the year and estimates at one million the cost of the modifications “agreed” for this project – essential to complete the road ring of the capital – in the process of open dialogue with representatives of neighbors.
This was reported yesterday to ABC by sources from this regional Executive Department, which is accelerating the final procedures to begin the execution. It is trying to respect its latest start schedule for these works, which the PP Council resurrected after the PSOE would end up in a drawer due to its very high cost (220 million).
The initial section of the North Round is 600 meters. It goes from the García Moreno academic roundabout to the Crossroads Sierra (Santa Beatriz, which will be renovated), generating a renovated Arruzafilla avenue.
The people consulted at Development indicated that the process of putting the works out to competition “continues its course”. They added that the Council’s Board of Directors “will soon agree to authorize the expenditure” of 34.5 million for its execution. The work will last 30 months.
“It is planned to launch a call for tenders before the end of the year to open the period for submitting offers,” added these sources from this department of the regional executive. From the Ministry it was added that “the award will be maintained next year and there is already a position included in the 2025 budget project of the Council”. [2,09 millones] for the start of work.
This timeline is the one that was provided recently, with some new milestones like the proximity of the authorisation disbursement by the Government Council.
Of course, we must not forget that from the beginning of this year, what was planned Promotion was that the call for tenders for the works would begin before the second half of 2024 – the dialogue with the neighborhood movement on measures to reduce the noise impact of this road extended the deadlines – its aim was therefore that the machines be seen in the field before the end of the current financial year, which is already excluded.
In the route of the first phase, yes, the movement is already visible, before the work. And since September 20, Fomento has been developing archaeological tastings.
The sources consulted in the Autonomous Department headed by Rocío Díaz indicated that the prospecting is progressing and “extends to the entire route of the North Round in which action will be taken” now. They added that “so far no remains of particular interest have been discovered.”
Then, they clarified that “until everything is searched and the final report of Culture “We won’t know if there will be any impact on the project.” However, they argued that “with the information we currently have, there do not appear to be any problems.”
When these interlocutors were questioned about the duration of these tastings – initially planned for two months – they recalled that “with archaeology, it is difficult to predict deadlines; especially because they are to the detriment of what we find or not. And they pointed out that “this week it rained and the jobs“. Everything indicates that the two months planned to carry out the archaeological prospecting task will be exceeded.
Regarding the controversy that could arise from the execution of this first part – the PSOE even announced that there would be mobilizations citizens against (in the debate there were requests for burial from the neighborhoods, which will not materialize), Fomento refuted that “we have held numerous meetings both with the Town Hall and with the representatives and associations of the neighborhood to that this project is born from consensus”.
“Through this process of dialogue and collaboration”, continued sources from this ministry, modifications were “agreed” which increased the cost of this road infrastructure “by a million”, reaching the aforementioned amount of 34 .5 million. Among these changes are “include more pedestrian crossings in the [futura] avenue du Arruzafillathe installation of trees acting as a plant barrier or adaptation of the median. “We have been working on a project that humanizes said avenue and provides traffic calming measures, as requested by the neighbors,” concluded Fomento.
The North West District Council (the one directly concerned by the part of the Cycle which will be carried out first) already announced, in a press release, last month that it would hold an assembly with “a large presence of neighbors” and the “completely majority”. The current position was one of “majority support” for the burial. “In addition to the participants, the neighborhood associations of our District,” concludes the press release from this citizen participation organization. The noise generated by new road infrastructure is the main source of concern for residents in this area.
Less traffic than on the highway
The Town Hall and the Authority insist on the measures that will be taken to calm traffic, such as traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, the installation of a plant barrier or the relocation of the route of the renovated Avenida de la. Arruzafilla direction the park of the same name. They also use technicians’ forecasts that this new road will accommodate between 25,000 and 30,000 vehicles per day at its inflection point, half of those currently passing through the Vial Norte, the capital’s central traffic distributor.
The town planning advisor, Miguel Angel TorricoHe stressed, when the PSOE warned against mobilizations, that “it was not viable to opt for more” changes than those already accepted by the Council. “This would make the project more expensive and delay it even more,” he said, referring to the eternal wait for an important project for the capital’s mobility.
The second phase [ver información adjunta] will be much more complex and economically costly – it will be necessary to resort to funeral-. It will connect the Carrefour Sierra roundabout to the Ruiz de Azúa neighborhood and the Madres Escolapias roundabout, where the municipal section of this Ronda ends, opening in 2021. There is no timetable for this.
