The government of Mayor Jaume Collboni is accelerating the renovation works on the Rambla in order to turn it into a cultural hub as soon as possible. As La Vanguardia announced, finally these works will be carried out for three years less than planned by the Ada Colau team, they will conclude in January 2027, it will not take seventy-odd months...
The project does not change. The time saving occurs through an administrative maneuver and by assuming considerable risks. Instead of in five phases, as envisaged by the previous municipal government in order to reduce its impact on the life of the Rambla, the remaining works will be carried out in one go, raising the entire promenade at once. This entails a single tender (previously one was planned for each section, which meant a very long procedure and work stoppages between one and another) for 41 million euros, so that the complete reform of the Rambla has an estimated cost of 55.6 million (including the drafting of the projects and the necessary services), the same amount that was anticipated until now with an increase of 10% due to the increase in the cost of materials. The award will be made in two lots; Therefore, there will be two companies or temporary unions of companies that will work.
The inconveniences that are being registered in the first phase of this work, those that are being carried out in the lower part, which began more than a year ago, show the daring of this bet. Drilling machines, detours and fences ruined the summer season of the historic La Cava Universal brewery. Right now moving along this side of the Rambla is a hassle. The municipal premise for what will come next June is that the mobility of neighbors, merchants and emergency services is assured, as well as access to facilities, mainly cultural. A lane in the mountain direction will always be open to motorized traffic.
Collboni announced this Monday with some pomp and pageantry some details of this new calendar, and took advantage of the third to make it clear that he is determined to get Barcelonans to walk down the Rambla again. The first socialist mayor wants the city's most international showcase to once again reflect the heartbeats of the city, to unite the neighborhoods of Ciutat Vella, to seduce residents and visitors.
It is a distinguished objective that many other mayors ended up putting on the table, and then, with time and several jugs of cold water, it inevitably ends up dissolving into oblivion, among pre-cooked paellas, large jugs of sangria and rude souvenirs. . In reality, this somewhat strange idea, that of the cultural axis, is still in its infancy. He doesn't even have an eraser on a napkin. But in some capricious way the planets have aligned. Collboni trusts that these four or so years of works will provide him with the cushion that will allow him to develop his project and gain citizen trust. To begin with, already during the works, it is planned to bring together the entire offer in an agenda called Cultura Rambla. And for all those affected or for the rest of Barcelona, an office will be opened, Espai Rambla, where they will be informed of the works and the future of the axis.
In addition, the municipal executive has resources to combat the less desired effects of the laws of supply and demand. The City Council has a few abandoned flower stands in the heart of the promenade and everything indicates that sooner or later it will recover the concessions of the former birdkeepers and participates in the management of a good part of the twenty-odd cultural facilities on the promenade (in the surrounding area there are more than 60)... And if you dare, you can update the use plans of the Rambla and the entire Ciutat Vella and thus review which economic activities it favors.
The Collboni team has quickly found a way to abbreviate these works. The municipal Urban Planning Commission plans to approve this Tuesday the executive project updated with the new planning. The City Council hopes to conclude the work being done in the lower part next spring, and that in June the super phase will begin, which extends along the rest of the promenade, between Santa Madrona and Plaza Catalunya, which were to be developed in four phases and that will finally be done at the same time.
The intervention will be undertaken from one side of the road to the other, as is usually done in most street reforms, starting on the Besòs side and then on the Llobregat side. The central promenade is left for last. Although it has an irregular shape, with variable widths and does not run in a straight line, the Rambla has some singularities that can make this proposal viable. Unlike the reform of Via Laietana, this promenade “is made of leather,” explained Ricard Font, general director of Bimsa, the municipal company responsible for the project. “The services underground are in good condition and should not be touched,” he assured. This makes execution easier. Nor are any relevant archaeological remains expected to appear. The pending areas coincide with the layout of metro line 3 and when this infrastructure was built they were already found.
According to the new schedule, starting in June 2024 and for ten months, action will be taken on the Besòs side, from the facades to the first row of trees. The uphill traffic will go on the Llobregat side. For the next ten months, work will be done on the other side, passing the vehicles in an upward direction through their final position, on the Besòs side. Finally, for another twelve months, the central promenade will be intervened and the traffic lanes will be permanently open, the uphill and downhill lanes, each one in its place. Once the work is completed, both directions will be limited to neighbors and services.
The specific effects on traffic will be detailed later. The decision has been made to keep the ascending direction open because the Via Laeitana does the opposite during the ongoing works, which will last until June 2025, with the descending direction. In addition to this last axis, they will be alternatives to Rambla Lluís Companys on the one hand, and Rambla del Raval and Paral·lel on the other.
A very relevant issue is the impact of the works on the activity carried out on the central promenade of La Rambla (kiosks, florists, terraces...). The municipal services are in talks with all of them with the aim of finding formulas in the execution of the works that minimize the effects. The idea is to move the different pieces as the work is carried out so that they are placed in place as soon as possible.
