Manolo Barón has sent a letter to Minister Óscar Puente requesting the toll on the AP-46 to be waived while works on the A-45 are carried out, which are causing long traffic jams in Las Pedrizas.
The mayor of Antequera, Manolo Barón, has requested the central government to make the AP-46 temporarily free while the works on the A-45 are ongoing in the Las Pedrizas area. The request was formalised on Tuesday, July 28, through a letter addressed to the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente.
In the letter, Barón outlines the serious situation faced daily by thousands of drivers who use the A-45 to travel between the Antequera region, the interior of the province, and the city of Málaga. Lane restrictions and long traffic jams are causing significant harm to workers, transporters, business owners, students, and visitors.
The mayor acknowledges the necessity of the works to ensure safety and the good condition of the infrastructure, but believes they should be accompanied by extraordinary measures that minimise the impact on citizens, especially during the peak tourist season and road travel times.
The main proposal from the Antequera City Council is for the Ministry to agree to a temporary toll exemption on the AP-46 so that it can operate as a cost-free alternative route for users. This way, the A-45 would be decongested, road safety would be reinforced, travel times would be reduced, and emissions caused by long queues would be diminished.
Barón reminds in his letter that there are precedents where the Ministry has authorised temporary toll waivers on motorways during works or serious incidents on parallel roads. “There is no warning, no advance notice, and no alternatives are offered,” lamented the mayor in statements to the media, criticising the planning carried out and the lack of prior communication regarding the impacts.
If total exemption is not granted, the mayor proposes a substantial reduction in the toll, even a symbolic price of one euro, to encourage the use of the AP-46 and help distribute traffic between both routes. For this, an agreement between the Ministry and the concessionaire would be necessary.
Barón has also warned that long traffic jams not only affect mobility but can also increase the risk of accidents. Meanwhile, the AP-46 remains with much reduced traffic despite being fully operational.
The mayor concludes his letter by requesting that the request be addressed as quickly as possible and showing the Antequera City Council's willingness to collaborate on the necessary actions to improve mobility and reduce the harm caused to citizens.
The situation particularly affects the residents of Antequera and the surrounding area, who use the A-45 daily for work, study, or errands in Málaga. The requested measure aims to alleviate the inconveniences while the works are carried out, the duration of which has not been specified by the Ministry.
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