Malaga drivers hit by multi-kilometre jams on A-45: Sinkhole appears in motorway

Emergency works to repair a road surface collapse on the A-45 near Casabermeja continue to disrupt one of Malaga province’s busiest dual carriageways. Northbound traffic towards Cordoba faces the heaviest restrictions, while delays also are building in the opposite direction towards Malaga City, the provincial capital.

Sinkhole prompts lane closures near Casabermeja

Road crews are tackling a “socavon”, or sinkhole, in the carriageway surface at Casabermeja. The defect forms part of wider emergency repairs authorised after intense storms in late 2025 and early 2026 damaged stretches of both the A-45 and A-7.

Work has required the complete closure of the Cordoba-bound carriageway over several kilometres. A temporary transfer previously switched traffic onto the opposite side of the dual carriageway between roughly kilometre points 123.6 and 118.2. Full closure extended across about five and a half kilometres, with the Cordoba direction shut between 125.5 and 123.5 and the Malaga direction restricted between 116.5 and 118.

➡️Alternativa hacia Córdoba/Granada: AP-46 y, para vehículos ligeros desde la A-7 en Vélez-Málaga, por A-356 y A-7204. pic.twitter.com/QP78geAL6X

— Dir. Gral. Tráfico (@DGTes) July 31, 2026

Queues build in both directions

Traffic monitors recorded queues of two kilometres towards Cordoba and one and a half kilometres towards Malaga on recent weekends. Similar delays have appeared daily during the peak summer period, when the A-45 carries heavy volumes of local and tourist traffic between the coast, Antequera and inland Andalucia.

Local politicians have criticised the decision to carry out the works in high season with so much traffic already on the roads.

Some have chimed in and asked the Spanish government whether no better date existed than the height of summer to close both lanes towards Cordoba. They describe the timing as an even bigger blow to a province that depends heavily on tourism and argued that such maintenance should take place at night.

Earlier, there were also daytime lane closures on the A-7 that produced similar congestion and called for explanations from Transport Minister Oscar Puente, which never came.

Alternative routes available

Drivers wanting to avoid the works can use the parallel AP-46 toll motorway, known as the Autopista de las Pedrizas or Guadalmedina.

Light vehicles only may follow secondary roads: from the A-7 at Velez-Malaga via the A-356 and A-7204, or from the Antequera and Granada approaches by leaving the A-45 at exit 114 or the A-92 at exit 24, then continuing on the A-7204, A-356 and MA-3100.

Latest position on 31 July

Later on Friday, July 31, the Directorate-General for Traffic confirmed that the temporary transfer had been removed. The right-hand lane towards Cordoba reopened, yet the left-hand lane remains closed. Restrictions and the risk of further delays therefore continue.

Anyone planning to travel the A-45 should consult the latest DGT alerts through the official app, the @DGTes account or traffic cameras before setting out. Conditions can alter quickly while emergency repairs remain under way, and peak summer periods are likely to produce the longest waits.