The Puerta de Alcalá will continue to be covered by a canvas for at least 10 more months. The delay in the start of the works to consolidate the structure of its sculptural groups, replace the lead on the roof and subject the stone of its facades to conservation treatment, will extend the work until the beginning of 2024
In statements to the media during a visit to the Aguacate industrial estate, the city's mayor, José Luis Martínez Almeida, has assured that it is "very difficult" to define the duration of the work when it comes to a monument of these characteristics, but he has guaranteed that they will work "rigorously, with total and absolute solvency" to solve the problems that were detected.
It has been more than 30 years since the Puerta de Alcalá was subjected to conservation work, so this exhaustive action will lead to the partial occupation of Plaza de la Independencia", so the perimeter of the area will be protected with a fence closed with canvas.
Already last November, the town hall reported that the Puerta de Alcalá, a monument declared an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC) in Madrid, suffers "different degradation processes" due to the materials used in its construction, the weather and factors such as its location or previous interventions, so it requires "a restoration and cleaning project in depth".
Almeida has specified that in the face of the pathologies that were detected, the City Council has responded with "urgent" action, because "one of the most emblematic monuments" of the capital "could not withstand a process of degradation."
In order to carry out the work, the councilor continued to explain, "in principle there does not have to be traffic cuts", and the works will bring an advantage, and that is that citizens will be allowed to visit them, so that they will be able to see closer than ever the monument and see first-hand the actions that are going to be carried out.
Almeida has pointed out that the Puerta de Alcalá "is not an isolated element" within the Landscape of Light, so in order to protect all this space "a general reflection is required, promoting a comprehensive plan and project" that encompasses the entire area , and the consistory wants to work in that line.
The monument - UNESCO World Heritage as part of the Landscape of Light - was covered last July by a 2,200-square-meter canvas at the beginning of a detailed study prior to the intervention that is now beginning.
