A crane will today cut the wall that surrounds the Tres Xemeneies site, in the Badalona section. This begins the demolition of what is known in Northern Barcelona as the wall of shame, which for more than twenty years, since the closure of the thermal power plant, has remained in a state of disrepair inconsistent with modern buildings in the Mora neighborhood.
After several bureaucratic vicissitudes, the demolition of the wall on Carrer Eduard Maristany will become a reality, a project initiated by the current mayor, Xavier Garcia Albiol, but which was cut short with the motion of no confidence in November 2021 and which "since then - says the mayor - it has remained in oblivion in a drawer of the City Hall".
The project was commissioned in 2020 and drawn up by the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona and its cost is fully borne by Badalona City Council.
The first blow with the hydraulic hammer involves the start of a project that affects about 4,000 m2 of surface, which has a budget of 1,142,818 euros and a duration of five months. The reform will mean a radical change for the environment and should put an end to the security and mobility problems caused by the wall. "The work dignifies Badalona's connection with Sant Adrià de Besòs and Barcelona", notes Albiol.
The action consists of widening the street, which will go from 9 to 21 meters wide and will have enough space for vehicles, pedestrians and a bike lane. It should be remembered that currently in this place a traffic light gives alternative way to each direction of the march, since the width of the road does not allow traffic in both directions.
178 meters of the wall, owned by Endesa, will be demolished, 158 meters of which are in the Badaloní municipal area, and another 14 meters will be built towards the interior of the lot, which will make it possible to have new sidewalks, a area populated with trees and widen the road. In the same way, the project allows continuity of the cycle path, which is now interrupted at the beginning of the street.
Another of the novelties of the work is that the extension allows for a battery parking area, therefore, space will also be gained for vehicles in an area where free parking is located next to the railway and in the adjacent lots, although it is also a risk, as it is a place where many thefts are committed from the cars parked there.
The expansion of the sidewalk entails the renewal of the lighting, one of the main demands of the neighbors, because "at night it's scary to walk around here, almost in the dark", comments Elena, a neighbor who daily travels between Sant Adrià and Badalona. The paving, both on roads and sidewalks, will also be renewed.
Currently, walking through this area is a "real danger to integrity", the neighbors point out. This is a point where pedestrians are forced to walk on the road due to the poor condition of the pavements, the narrowness of which also makes it impossible to circulate with baby carriages or wheelchairs.
Mayor Xavier Garcia Albiol believes that with the demolition of the wall and the widening of the road, Carrer Eduard Maristany "will be a new strategic road". It is, despite the road complications, a road with intense road traffic. Proof of this is that from the port of Badalona they detected that 500,000 vehicles a year pass through the interior of the port - the first ten minutes are free - between Badalona and Sant Adrià de Besòs.
