This Tuesday the operation starts from the bridge of the Constitution and the Immaculate Conception, which will last until Sunday throughout the Spanish territory. In Catalonia, some 460,000 trips are estimated due to the December long weekend. The exit operation will see the influx of roads increase during this Tuesday and Wednesday, where most of the mobility will move north due to the claim of snow in Andorra and the Pyrenees.
The Mossos will activate a special traffic device that will have 1,600 checkpoints and 1,700 traffic officers distributed along all roads in Catalan territory. AP-7, C-17 and C-55 will be the arteries with the highest vehicle flow, especially at the height of the Llobregat axis, and Trànsit has taken measures to try to prevent the more than likely traffic jams and delays.
In the AP-7, which is where the largest number of tourists will be concentrated -both north and south-, an additional lane will be enabled from Montornés del Vallès to Hostalric, past the Montseny area. "I think we will lose mobility in the pre-littoral area of Montseny and allow us to be able to return to the lane in the Hostalric area without creating congestion," says Ramón Lamiel, director of the Catalan Traffic Service of the Generalitat of Catalonia.
Lamiel also mentions the 1,600 checkpoints spread throughout the territory with the aim of reducing road accidents. "There are already 52 motorcyclists killed this year and we want to freeze this figure until the end of the year. It is a group that is very affected on this type of date," he provides forcefully.
"There are points on some roads that tend to become inevitably congested, both on the way out and back. If they do this on a typical day, it is most likely that it will also occur on the bridge. Roads with a maximum influx of 200 vehicles on the hour, when this amount is exceeded, they tend to become congested," comments the director in view of the inevitable situation of expected delays.
Restrictions will also be applied to the permitted speed limits in some sectors with a higher rate of possible accidents. In the south direction, from Barcelona to Gelida, the maximum speed will be reduced to 80km/h. For now there have not been any accidents that have caused serious traffic jams, but Trànsit recommends and urges patience on the road during these Purísima Bridge festivities.
The return operation will also be something to take into account for anyone looking to cross the bridge away from home. 250,000 trips are expected for Sunday the 10th with the sadness of returning to routine, just before the Christmas festivities arrive. Trànsit has planned measures to reduce the expected flow on the AP-7 by prohibiting trucks from accessing the highway on Sunday. Again, they advocate extreme caution when returning home and patient driving on the road.
