This Sunday it was a few minutes past ten o’clock in the morning when suddenly a mass of tons of rocks and earth crashed down the side of the hill until it collapsed and rendered the building completely unusable. AP-66 highway that connects León and Asturias. For the moment, no date has been planned for its full reopening. After the great initial scare, confirmed by the cameras of the toll road concessionaire and the work of the Civil Guard canine guides on the ground, the collapse did not catch any driver under.
But there were many people who, at that time, used what is main road which connects the Principality to the Plateau. Up to 145 passenger cars, 14 trucks and two coaches had to be diverted along the Benemérita before being blocked on the highway by the landslide that occurred at kilometer 78, near the Entrerregueras tunnel.
In the province of León, in La Magdalena, and in Asturias, in Lena, all vehicles are obliged from the morning of this Sunday, November 10, to use the N-630, the national road that goes up to the port of Pajares. A single lane road in each direction, many turns and steep slopes that make traffic difficult and slow and that during the snow season it is one of the first to experience restrictions. Around 8,000 vehicles – including 1,200 heavy vehicles – use the highway on average daily to cross this port point.
Before beginning to remove loose equipment, maintenance work will first be undertaken. hillside confinementin addition to evaluating its condition by geologists. According to the general director of the road concessionaire (Aucalsa) Eduardo Arrojo, in statements collected by Ical, it will be easier to clear the road towards León, since it has received a smaller volume of rocks and earth and it will be ” a matter of days” if they don’t find any complications. For the other, there is no estimated date for full recovery.
From the Junta de Castilla y León, its president, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, offered “all resources for any need” and guaranteed “all efforts to return to normal” on the Huerna highway.
Among those affected, the many buses that the company Alsa charters daily to connect León and the Principality. As announced, travel times will be increased between 30 and 45 minutes to have to use the national road and will restructure the timetables to adapt them to the circumstances.
High capacity second track
The cut due to the collapse of tons of rocks and earth on the AP-66 cuts the main communication route between Castilla y León and Asturias, being the second road with great connection capacity with the northwest that is affected. On June 7, 2022, during maintenance work, the Viaduct Or Castro on the A-6 collapsed and since then the main road connecting Galicia to the Meseta has been cut, forcing traffic to be diverted to Lugo through the town of Piedrafita.
