The Minister of Territory, Ester Capella, announced yesterday before the mayors of Maresme the start, during the first quarter of 2024, of the public exhibition process of the project to pacify the N-II highway as it passes through the coastal region, with a first investment of 90 million, of the 384 million euros that the State has committed. Little news for an investment pending since 2010 that has been updated and now also includes performances in the Rodalies R1 line.
The mixed company that will integrate the Generalitat and the State for the management of Rodalies, in the case of Maresme, is linked to the pacification project of the N-II that the territory has been waiting for 13 years and that had to be reactivated with the liberalization of tolls of the C-32, which already meant the diversion of some 10,000 vehicles daily to the expressway. The stations, with the new two-headed strategy, will be a transportation nodal point, with more bus stops and elements to encourage the use of public transportation. A set of unscheduled actions that Adif will carry out with a total investment of 25 million euros.
The project to convert the N-II into an urban road will begin in the Baix Maresme from 2025, when all the drafting processes have been completed. The links to connect with the C-32 will be prioritized before the actions to pacify and improve public transport. With this, it is expected to free the coastal highway from more vehicles “up to 50% more” according to the councilor, who was preceded yesterday by the Secretary of Infrastructure, Marc Sanglas.
In Maresme, up to six new links will be created and existing ones will be improved, with which they estimate that 10,000 vehicles a day will stop circulating on the N-II. The new connections with the motorway will be built between Alella and Masnou, Teià, Premià de Mar, Cabrils-Vilassar de Mar and Canet de Mar-Calella, while the Llavaneres connection will be completed with a new access to Girona.
Subsequently, up to 10 new roundabouts will be built to fit the access with the C-32 in Alella, Sant Adreu de Llavaneres and between the two Arenys. In Arenys de Mar the connection between the N-II and the expressway through the Valldegata-Draper industrial estate will be strengthened. Another priority is to modify the connection between the C-60 and the C-32, in Mataró, which now accumulates recurring problems of traffic congestion.
Another of the initiatives that the N-II project incorporates involves definitively completing the dismantling of the C-32 toll areas where the installation of photovoltaic panels is planned at various points such as the Santa Susanna tollbooth or the Parpers tunnel in Argentona.
One of the keys to the pacification of the N-II, which will have only one lane in each direction, garden areas and wider sidewalks, is the continuous cycle connection, whose construction project is in the drafting phase, which must adapt to the roundabouts. In the case of Baix Maresme, the route allows the bike lane to be integrated into the N-II. At other points, such as in Arenys de Mar, the connection is made difficult by Musclera beach. In Canet de Mar-Sant Pol de Mar and in Calella you will also have to adapt to the change in orography. A greater complication entails designing the bicycle route between Llavaneres and Caldes d'Estrac because the N-II runs over the viaduct. On the other hand, in other areas of Alt Maresme, where the road is narrower and winding, other alternatives are sought. In all municipalities it is planned that the bike path can connect with the promenades.
The agreement signed between the State and the Generalitat includes additional actions to promote sustainable non-motorized mobility and encourage the use of public transport. The initial proposal proposes the creation of new secure parking spaces for bicycles at railway stations along the N-II and at other points considered attractive to regional mobility. Likewise, there is an emphasis on the creation of new Parks
