For yet another year, Madrid takes advantage of the summer to carry out improvement works on its transport infrastructure, that is, bridges, roads, tunnels or the metro. Work began a few days ago on the improvement of the line 1 metro track between the 19 Sol and Valdecarros stations, a work whose budget amounts to 26 million euros and will last until the end of September. More than 350,000 daily commuters have to look for transportation alternatives.
The Municipal Transport Company has provided a maximum of 58 buses in the hours of greatest influx of passengers as an alternative on the surface.
But not only the subway is affected by the summer improvements. Starting yesterday there will be partial traffic cuts between the A6 and the M30 at the height of the Padre Huidobro bridge, near Puerta del Hierro, due to the fact that its structure suffers longitudinal cracks that need improvement.
According to Paloma García Romero, delegate of Works and Equipment of the City Council of the capital, "the rehabilitation works of the bridge will be carried out in three phases so as not to cut off all traffic." The objective is to install five pillars that better hold the bridge and waterproof it to prevent the entry of water and thus stop the chemical reaction that degrades the concrete. It entails a budget of 1.5 million euros and the works have been agreed between the City Council's Works and Mobility services, the General Directorate of Traffic and the State Road Demarcation in Madrid.
In addition, traffic through the Manuel Becerra tunnel, which allows transit between Doctor Esquerdo and Francisco Silvela –designed to cross the capital from north to south in the eastern zone– will be cut off during these two months to carry out repair work on its inside. The access porticos will be repaired, the gas pipes that run through the tunnel will be removed, and several interior blankets will be demolished.
