AP-7 accidents continue to increase in Tarragona. Three accidents involving trucks have occurred in the past 10 days, leaving one person dead or injured, with queues stretching for kilometers at the height of Terre du L’Evre, and transporters suffering financial losses as they are trapped for hours without being able to work or deliver their goods on time. Business owners say they are “deeply outraged” and regret the many hours of lockdowns that have piled up without any options. The three recent accidents alone caused a total of 87 hours of traffic disruption in both direction and direction.
Reducing speeds on the southern section of the motorway is one of the main measures proposed by the Metropolitan Transport Authority (SCT) to the Transport Association at an emergency meeting, which coincides with the current zone where overtaking for trucks is already prohibited on 30 kilometers of the route to Valencia. Specifically, a proposal must be submitted to the Ministry of Transport, which owns the road, to reduce the speed to 100 km/h for passenger cars and 80 km/h for large vehicles, and the Ministry must approve it. It is also being assessed whether this measure, which is currently temporary, will affect buses.
All this is aimed at reducing the increasing accident rate, as the number of fatalities traveling by truck on Catalonia’s roads tripled last year, with nine people losing their lives between January 1 and October 31.
Currently, 12,000 trucks circulate daily. Josep Lluís Aimat, head of the Tarragona Motor Transport Operators Federation, considers the proposed changes to be a “patchwork”. “What we really need is for N-340 to become a highway like it exists in other parts of the country so that when an accident happens on AP-7, we have an alternative because AP-7 is banned from circulating on national highways in certain areas of the state.” They are also calling for a third lane to be added to the highway expansion at this point. The biggest problem is the losses that accumulate day by day in these episodes. “Loss is impossible to quantify and is very expensive. Every extra day of work and missed deadlines results in significant additional costs.”
The Comarcas de L’Evre Enterprises Association (AECE) considers the situation to be “unacceptable” and will cause “serious consequences for businessmen, workers and transporters whose activities depend on this route”. They also believe that this is a comparative complaint and that they are in an inferior situation. “To compete on an equal footing with the rest of the country, we need security and good connectivity. We cannot continue to incur financial and logistical costs in a situation that puts our future at risk.” They assert that the problem lies in a historical lack of infrastructure maintenance, “which is now taking its toll.” The employers’ association has requested a meeting with Carles Prieto, the representative of the Spanish government in Catalonia. Mr. Jantz requested the presence of SCT Secretary Ramon Ramiel in Congress.
3 consecutive accidents
A three-truck collision early Tuesday meant normal conditions on the road were not restored until 30 hours later. The accident occurred when the truck driver crossed the median in the opposite direction and collided with another large vehicle heading north. A third person was struck by the wreckage and rolled off the highway. One of the drivers died after being crushed under the luggage, and the other was seriously injured.
After this accident, Ramiel realized that the problem was growing. “There is a very noticeable increase and that is what worries us. The section from Qarafat to Kamarul has a straight line with very impressive steep descents.” And the variable speed solution proposed to the federation is already making progress.
Last weekend, another tanker truck rollover accident occurred on Saturday on AP-7 between L’Ampolla and L’Ametla de Mar, leading to queues of up to 10km the next day after the road was cut off to remove the truck. Northbound traffic was closed for a total of 33 hours, although some lanes were opened earlier. Added to the list is a third accident that occurred early last week, when a truck fire in Lardea closed roads for 24 hours until some southbound lanes were opened and normal conditions were restored.
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