Blasting begins to stabilize the hillside on the road between Ronda and San Pedro

Blasting operations to remove large rocks and stabilize the slope of the A-397 highway from Ronda to San Pedro Alcántara, a strategic route for this area that has been closed since March 8 due to landslides caused by heavy rains, will begin this Tuesday. These tasks are highly complex, as both drilling and loading of explosives can only be done manually due to the steep terrain, the regional government reported in a statement this Sunday. Additionally, handling explosive materials required permits with processing times that have been shortened as much as possible. The operation, which will be coordinated with the Civil Guard, will be carried out by a company specializing in blasting, after obtaining authorization in recent days from both the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mines and the Government Sub-delegation in Málaga. Meanwhile, repair work on the A-397 highway continues every day of the week with other stabilization measures. Permanent bolting of the upper part of the landslide has begun, and given the variability of the material, it has started with a mesh of 12-meter deep anchored bolts. The work carried out so far has focused on cleaning and removing rocks from the head and middle areas of the landslide to stabilize the slope. Workers continue to remove rocks and install the containment membrane in the middle area, assisted by a large crane to lift materials. Once the stability of the slope is guaranteed, the final phase of the works will begin with the repair of the viaduct, with the goal of reopening a strategic route for the Serranía de Ronda to traffic.