Revitalising Elche: Transformation of iconic riverside area

Elche’s slope by the Virgen bridge is gearing up for significant improvements, with the Council announcing plans to enhance accessibility in one of the city’s most visited green areas.

Alongside this initiative, the City Council aims to tackle concerns about insufficient lighting by replacing all streetlights along the riverbank.

Additional plans include adding greenery with ivy and other plants, upgrading safety features like replacing the wooden fence and improving walkways.

To realise these plans, the Council will hire a private company to install a high-capacity elevator designed for wheelchair users and parents with prams and pushchairs.

It is hoped that life will blend seamlessly into the historic area alongside a 17th-century viaduct.

Highlighting the need for improved accessibility, the Mayor, Pablo Ruz, stressed the ongoing efforts to transform the hillside into a premier destination for sports, leisure, and recreation in Alicante province.

Additionally, the City Council aims to enhance lighting along the riverbank by replacing sodium vapour lamps with LED fixtures, matching similar initiatives in municipal parks for €200,000.

The ongoing municipal initiative to introduce new greenery and trees across Elche will extend to this area, with native species reintroduced.

Plans include building another ramp near the Children’s Health Foundation and expanding vegetation through the “Elx Natura” project, incorporating bougainvillaeas, olive trees, tamarinds, false pepper trees and orange trees.