The Department of Territory of the Generalitat complies with a historic claim of the municipalities through which the C-31 highway passes and allocates 1.4 million euros to the rehabilitation of the structures between Sant Adrià de Besòs and Badalona. The mayors appreciate the investment but take the opportunity to reiterate the demand to abolish the highway.
The objective of the action, according to the Generalitat, is to guarantee good state of conservation and promote road safety. Work will begin in July and will continue for six months. The works cover the trunk of the C-31 from kilometer 209.7, which crosses the urban section of the two cities of Barcelonès Nord, and also the two secondary viaducts that make up the exit branches. These are structures that were built in the late 1960s and are seriously damaged, so repair is recommended.
The main viaduct has a length of more than 1,000 meters and is made up of 18 sections, with a reinforced concrete slab and 82 prefabricated beams, supported on a hundred columns of various types. The other two viaducts are made up of 15 sections with 14 pillars each.
The works will consist of repairing the damage detected on the pillars, for which the concrete elements that present pathologies will be cleaned and repaired. The concrete pieces will be painted with protective products, the lighting will be partially replaced and several drainage elements will be improved.
The mayors congratulate themselves on the performance but focus the debate on demanding the removal of the highway. Filo Cañete, mayor of Sant Adrià, affirms that these works “fulfill a demand” but she recalls the unfulfilled commitment to convene a commission to “study an urban planning figure that allows the burying of the highway.”
Xavier Garcia Albiol, mayor of Badalona, expresses himself along the same lines, lamenting the neglect of the infrastructure for years and claiming that the long-term objective “has to involve the elimination of the highway.”
