The Ronda-San Pedro highway could open sooner than expected

Seville/The Minister of Development, Territorial Coordination and Housing, Rocío Díaz, has assured that efforts are being made to shorten the deadlines for the reopening to traffic of the road between Ronda and San Pedro Alcántara (A-397), which will be possible if the current work pace continues. "We have not lost a minute, and we have already defined the technical solution, with an investment exceeding 3.5 million euros," she noted.

Díaz responded thus to a question in the Parliament of Andalusia by the PSOE deputy Isabel Aguilera, asking whether the Regional Government still maintains the budget of 3.5 million euros and the six-month deadline because "given the severity of the problem, what we demand is maximum transparency," a point on which she criticized that the Andalusian Government "again resorts to sleight of hand."

Regarding this, Díaz stated that the Andalusian Government "has acted from the first moment to repair the damage caused by the storm Jana on this vital road for the Serranía de Ronda as soon as possible" and reiterated that "in less than 24 hours technical teams were deployed, and shortly after, the emergency declaration was signed."

According to the minister, "while the Andalusian Government responds with facts and rigor, others prefer confrontation" and she emphasized that while "they seek headlines, the government of Juanma Moreno looks after the citizens." Among the measures, she mentioned the reinforcement of the Ronda-Marbella bus service, with four daily trips at no additional cost and with a 50% discount thanks to the Costa del Sol card.

Therefore, she continued, "it is proven that for us the safety and recovery of the A-397 is indeed a priority." On the other hand, Díaz regretted that there are other political formations "that have not even supported the abolition of the toll on the highway, as the mayors of the region have demanded."

In this regard, she criticized that the Government of Spain "has declared that it will open the toll if the Regional Government pays for it." "We consider this response to be an unacceptable disrespect towards the more than 50,000 residents of the Serranía de Ronda affected by the closure of the A-397," the minister affirmed, urging that "they explain this to their ten socialist mayors of the region."

Similarly, the head of Development recalled that the isolation suffered by this region "is the result of decades of neglect by previous socialist governments." In contrast, she highlighted, "the government of Juanma Moreno has been responsible for unlocking key actions for the region."

In this regard, she referred to the drafting of the doubling of the A-367 accesses to Ronda, the drafting of the project for the highway between Cerralba and Zalea, or the works of the highway from Casapalma to Cerralba. This last section will be tendered this year with an investment of 52 million.

The repair works of the Ronda-San Pedro road (A-397) continue with the laying of a containment mesh to stabilize the highest part of the slope and the mechanical removal of unstable rocks to ensure safety and prevent new landslides in the area.

The Ministry of Development, Territorial Coordination and Housing has 20 workers in the area, most of them specialists in vertical work, who are there seven days a week, including Saturdays and Sundays, repairing the damage caused by the storm that necessitated the complete closure of the road traffic.

Bringing out the shell game

On her part, the socialist deputy has stressed that the A-397 "is not just a road, it is a lifeline that connects more than 30 villages" and criticized that the Regional Government "once again, instead of providing information, resorts to the shell game, again bringing out the three cups and distracting public attention by moving the pea. And while the citizens wait."

She noted that users "have seen how their workday is unbearably extended, that they have to face huge detours, and that they endure uncertainty as great as the rocks that have been exposed on the mountain slope." "I believe that the citizens of the Serranía de Ronda have the right to know and need information," she insisted.

According to Aguilera, the citizens "hope that, for once, they uncover the pea that says 'Juanma Moreno assumes his responsibilities, solves the problem'," since, she lamented, "they always uncover the same pea, the red pea that says 'it's Pedro Sánchez's fault' or, lately, 'let Montero pay for it'." She also questioned whether any kind of aid measure for those affected will be implemented.

In her speech in the plenary session, the socialist parliamentarian recalled that "the repair of the road is exclusively their responsibility and that even in this, they are lying and deceiving the citizens."

In the same vein, the general secretary of the PSOE in Málaga and Andalusian parliamentarian, Josele Aguilar, has demanded that the president of the Regional Government, Juanma Moreno, "shorten the deadlines for reopening the road between Ronda and the Costa del Sol (A-397)".

"The socialists of Málaga will demand in the Parliament of Andalusia that the Moreno Bonilla Government adopt measures in the face of the serious situation that the people of Ronda are experiencing. We will demand that the deadlines for the repair and reopening of the Ronda-San Pedro road, which are severely affecting the workers and businesses of the Serranía de Ronda, be shortened," he said.

Furthermore, Aguilar has urged that the Regional Government "put on the table support measures both for the workers and for the businesses that are being severely affected." "Moreno has to show his face to the people of Ronda," he assured, while asking him "to come and sympathize with the suffering that the people of Ronda are enduring due to the closure of the road."

"It is necessary for the president of the Regional Government to rise to the occasion, to show his face, to go there, to empathize with the citizens of Ronda, because one is president of the Regional Government not to pose for the photo, but to govern, to make decisions and to help the citizens in times of need," he concluded in a statement.