The new scenario is expected to cause an increase in private vehicle traffic, yet no incentives for public transit use have been introduced. “It is the state that must apologize to us for an extended plunder lasting nearly 50 years during which hardly any free-of-charge freeways have been built in Catalonia.” Four paying toll roads remain in the region, all owned by the Catalan government. “We celebrate the end of state tolls and share in the joy, but we will not say thank you,” stated Puigneró, of the separatist party Together for Catalonia.
29665 BUMPY ROAD DRIVERS
In November 2018, the Burgos-Armiñon stretch of the AP-1 became free of charge, followed in 2020 by the Tarragona-Alicante section of the AP-7 and the Sevilla-Cádiz section of the AP-4, for a total of more than a thousand kilometers.ĭespite acknowledging that drivers will welcome the move, Catalonia’s deputy premier Jordi Puigneró adopted a tough tone at the joint news conference. The newly “liberated” roads add to a growing list of tolls lifted in recent years due to expiring concessions that the government has chosen not to renew. The toll plaza at La Roca del Vallés (Barcelona) after barriers were lifted for good on August 31. Sánchez said the executive is “ working on a new formula” that will be the same across the national territory.
No more fees will be collected on more than 550 kilometers of high-capacity roads on the state-owned AP-7 (Tarragona-La Jonquera section) and AP-2 (Zaragoza-El Vendrell), as well as on the Catalonia-owned C-32 (Barcelona-Blanes) and C-33 (Barcelona-Montmeló).Īt a joint news conference of central and regional officials on Tuesday, Spanish Transportation Minister Raquel Sánchez said that the removal of tolls on the state-owned roads will save drivers a collective €752 million a year (€662 million in Catalonia and €90 million in Aragón).īut she added that the Spanish government will seek ways to meet the European Union’s demands for some form of payment on all high-capacity roads. Four freeways running through Spain’s Catalonia and Aragón regions last night became free of charge, slightly ahead of a September 1 deadline when Abertis, the road manager, eliminated tolls after decades of charging drivers for access.
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