Traffic jams have been the norm this Monday, the first working day with the works underway for the second reform phase of Via Laietana, which runs between Antoni Maura and Correus. The drivers who entered through Urquinaona throughout the day had to be patient until they reached the other end, in Correus. At times it took more than half an hour to make the journey.
The short green phases of the traffic lights and the reduction of two lanes –one shared by buses, taxis and bikes, the latter very few– to just one for all traffic going downhill from Antoni Maura complicated things. Ascent, up to this square, traffic will remain closed during the 21 months that this second part of the intervention will last and that the merchants in the area have demanded that it be shortened.
The upper section, up to Urquinaona, which began in March 2022, is almost ready. The forecast is to finish it this September, about three months longer than expected due to the appearance of archaeological remains that has delayed the work. The road, paved this weekend, shows off its final layout. In addition to the two downhill lanes mentioned above, it has a lane for buses and local traffic and the other exclusively for bikes. The latter has not yet been opened. Some parts of the sidewalk remain to be paved and landscaping and lighting elements to be placed.
