The Minister of Development visits Alicante for half an hour, 24 hours prior of the Court dissolution by the electoral convocation

Seen and unseen. The Minister of Development, José Luis Ábalos, today chaired the symbolic act of the beginning of the works to remodel the road access to the Alicante-Elche airport on the N-338 highway, in a section of 4.75 kilometers in length that connects the terminal with the N-332 and the ring road of Alicante, which has been waiting for the project for 20 years. Finally, 24 hours after the dissolution of the Cortes for the convening of general elections on April 28, the Ministry of Development has kicked off work that will last for three years causing also traffic accidents, 30,000 vehicles a day.

The visit of Ábalos has been lightning, although he has had a few minutes to share with the party colleagues in Elche, the mayor, Carlos González and Alejandro Soler, who is looking for a good location on the PSOE lists to the Congress.

Development invests some 28 million euros of which 18 million must be executed this year in line with the inherited budgets of Mariano Rajoy. Ten months ahead to see activity since this morning everything was green. Two workers holding the information billboard, a shovel standing next to them and a minister sparing in words and with little desire to give details of infrastructure in the province of Alicante.

Basically, the project consists of the integral improvement of the 4.75 kilometers of the N-338 with the construction of two lanes in each direction and four links. One to the Alicante Trade Fair Institution and the Vía Parque, another to the N-332, a third to the ring road (A-70) and the fourth to the airport entrance roundabout, which was already made for the new terminal, although it needed an urgent improvement.

As for the links, the project raises different options. To access from the N-332, the connections to the new divided highway on the right bank will be adapted and the passage on the N-332 will be maintained, modifying the geometry of the bidirectional branch to accommodate the median and relocate the traffic in the direction Alicante The link to the airport will consist of the improvement of the current roundabout, and as for the future connection with the motorway that circles Alicante, the current typology is maintained without further modifications than those essential to arrange the duplication of the road on the right.

One of the singular milestones of the project is the future link of the N-338 with the IFA fairgrounds. From this connection you will access the fair, the Vía Parque and the N-340, where two roundabouts will be built. The duplication of the N-338 forces to move the position and expand the radius of the roundabouts and to modify all branches.

“It is an important action, long demanded”, as the minister has underlined on a work that contemplates a total investment, including expropriations and technical assistance in drafting the project and control and monitoring of the works, of 27.1 million euros.

The minister ratifies that in summer the AVE between Elche and Madrid will be a reality

Ábalos has also ratified, “as we have already been announcing, the commissioning of the AVE to Elche in the summer, as the plans are being adequately fulfilled for this purpose”. The action that has begun today consists in the duplication of the N-338 road in 4.75 km, on the right bank (in the N-332A-70 direction) with the exception of a section of about 800 m at the height of the airport. Alicante “El Altet”, which due to the extension works of the same must run in variant.

The N-338 highway serves as a connection between the N-332 roads and the A-70 motorway, and becomes a true “by-pass” between both roads, in addition to completing the ring road to Alicante (A-70) by allowing to the users of the N-332 with origin / destination in any of the coastal towns in the south of Alicante surrounding the urban area and facilitating access to the northern part of the city.

In the section to operate there are 4 links on which it is necessary to act in a different way:

Link with the N-332 road. The connections are adapted to the new divided road on the right bank. The passage over the N-332 road is maintained in its entirety, modifying the geometry of the bi-directional branch to accommodate the median and relocating the movement between the N-332 highway in the Alicante direction and the N-338 highway in the A-highway. 70 to the position that marks the new right lane.

Link “airport”. It consists of a link with a central gazebo on the trunk with branches of entry and exit on both roads. This project includes some of the exit and entrance branches of the roundabout for the new road.

Link “fairground”. From this link you can access the N-340 road, the IFA fairground and the Vía Parque. It is a link of type weights, with two roundabouts on the N340 road. The duplication of the road N-338 forces to move the position and expand the radius of the roundabouts and to modify all branches. The modification of this link is made taking into account the non-affection to the building of the Alicante Trade Fair Institution, as well as access or future access to it. The entrance to the adjoining school is located in the roundabout on the east side of the N-338 (right bank).

Link with A-70. As in the link with the N332 road, the typology of the same, the integrity of the passage structure on the A-70 motorway and the existing branches, are maintained, with no other modifications than those essential to arrange the duplication of the roadway. the right.

On the other hand, the project defines a total of 8 structures: 4 viaducts, 2 overpasses and 2 underpasses. Finally, the road intercepts two cattle trails, the Vereda de Dolores and the Cañada Real del Portichol, which are replaced in the affected length.