This Monday, drivers on the A-5 experienced lane changes. Specifically, with the last major traffic transfer Who buried the highway. At approximately 4:00 a.m., according to Cibeles sources, progress in the excavation work moved traffic on the road once and for all. From the exit direction (the northern road), where the rotation continues for nine months, to the entrance direction (the southern road), where the rotation continues throughout the remaining working year. but, Rush hour traffic jams have not changed compared to usual rush hour traffic jams. Since the first cuts in February, as reported by the Municipal Mobility District. The highest traffic density was recorded between 7:00 and 8:00 in the morning, although the flow continued to be slow at 8:30 in the morning near Padre Pequer, as this newspaper confirmed in a car in the middle of the works department.
As for the surface, the most noticeable change affects the curves that have appeared since September to adapt the design to business obstacles and the gradual diversion of traffic from the northern road to the south. Now with the vehicles completely moving to the southern road most of the curves have disappeared and it is now just on the highway Highway connections to Boadilla, Yébenes, Batan and Usement Park So cars can get in and out. Moreover, among 3.2 kilometers filled with cranes, piles and excavators, another item installed in October now stands out: a traffic light near Villagarcia to allow pedestrians to cross from one side of the highway to the other. This connection was a relief to neighborhood life after the tunnels that connected the neighborhoods for decades were removed, but now it hinders traffic a little.
“It causes some delay, especially at rush hour, but it was necessary to be able to cross from one side to the other,” the delegate of urban planning, environment and mobility, Borja Carabante, took charge this Monday from El Retiro. Currently, pedestrians have four options for crossing the A-5 motorway after the abolition of the lane under Yébenes: the Padre Piquer Avenue underpass, the green cycle lane, the aforementioned traffic light, and the free EMT cycle bus. But all these alternatives are far from each other. So, mobility Studying the installation of a traffic signal further north, At the request of residents, there is no option to cross the highway between the traffic light and the old Dante Tunnel, except by bus.
The last large cut before the end of the burial
The change implemented on Monday was initially scheduled to take place at the end of the year, but has been brought forward “a month due to the good pace of work” and will allow Bury the side closest to the houses Throughout 2026. This step completes the second phase of transfers that began in February. Now, the third stage begins with the second total turn from Avenida de Portugal to Avenida Padre Piquer, in four lanes, two in each direction. Therefore, the layout has been simplified, however Highway connections to Boadilla, Yébenes, Batan and Usement Park “To demolish existing buildings,” Deputy Mayor Enma Sanz said last Thursday in announcing the cuts.
Carabanti confirmed that by the time the tunnel is operational in 2026, they intend to begin surface development of what will be Paseo Verde del Soroeste. “We are ahead of schedule on work of extraordinary magnitude,” the delegate continued Monday. “The impacts are waning and I think the neighbors are starting to see that within the next 12 months, this work will be completed.” In this way, the last major part – planned – of the most ambitious work of José Luis Martínez Almeida’s mandate has already been implemented. By now, drivers have to get used to driving on the southern road with them under their feet. Machines continue to make room for them.