Pilar de la Horadada mayor reveals latest expectation for AP-7 tunnel reopening date

Repairs after the fatal accident in May are now predicted to be finished by last week of June

A reopening date for the southbound carriageway tunnel of the AP-7 in Pilar de la Horadada, which has been closed for repairs following a fatal truck crash on May 9, has so far proven difficult to predict.

Estimates have ranged from two months to two weeks but now it appears the reality may be somewhere in between.

The mayor of Pilar, José María Pérez Sánchez has now raised hopes that traffic jams, being caused by motorway traffic diverted onto the N-332 and streets of the municipality, may be over before the beginning of July.

The tailbacks have been particularly severe on the N-332 leading up to the entrance to San Pedro del Pinatar, where traffic can rejoin the AP-7, particularly at times when many residents of the Region of Murcia are returning from work in Alicante province or a day at the beaches in places like Orihuela Costa, Mil Palmeras or Torre de la Horadada. 

He announced this on Monday June 16 after his latest contact with the Ministry of Transport’s state roads unit for Alicante province.

Pérez noted that he had met with the head of the unit, Jesús Redondo, “from the first moment… to propose alternatives and solutions to these bottlenecks”.

However none of these suggestions proved viable, since the ministry would not allow one of the lanes of the northbound carriageway to be used by traffic in the other direction, “for safety reasons”. The only other alternative routes are “unsurfaced secondary roads”.

Now he says he has received “good news” and “the works are making progress as they were planned”.

The mayor expressed his relief that the road is expected to reopen in time for the last weekend of June, particularly since “that weekend is when the largest number of residents and tourists are expected to start their holiday time in Pilar”.

He thanked the ministry for making an effort to progress as fast as possible with the development of the works to repair all the infrastructure that was broken after the fire, and assured he will remain in constant contact with them to pass on any updates.

Nevertheless, neither the roads unit nor the motorway concessionary company AUSUR, which hired the contractor that is carrying out the repairs, were willing to confirm this latest prediction that the tunnel would finally reopen in June.

Images: Ayuntamiento de Pilar de la Horadada