Costa Blanca News: Calpe in no hurry for AP-7 access

Accessing the AP-7 motorway is no longer one of Calpe’s priorities.

“For the moment, Calpe town hall has no plans for direct access even though this was a frequent request for many years,” local mayor Ana Sala declared recently. Sala pointed out that the lie of the land had always been a problem when examining the possibility of constructing a Calpe access, as Sierra Olta separates Calpe from the AP-7.

“We were always told that this would be a very costly project because of the work and money involved,” she explained. According to the mayor, completing the Benissa bypass will solve most of Calpe’s access problems. “And we believe that work on the bypass is due to be finished this year,” she said.

Benissa is bisected by the N-332 main road and constructing its much-needed bypass began in 2009 but was soon halted after the contractor went bankrupt owing to the economic crisis. Nothing was done for eight years until the Ministry of Public Works decided to rescind the original contract and invited new tenders to finish the project in July 2017.

Although Sala hopes that the Benissa bypass will soon be finished and in use, reports in the local Spanish media reveal that mayor Arturo Poquet believes work will not conclude until mid-2021.

“Finishing this project, together with lifting the AP-7 tolls are crucial to decongesting the N-332 where it crosses our municipality,” Benissa’s mayor added.