The Secretary of State for Transport and Sustainable Mobility, José Antonio Santano, presented the project of access to the port of El Musel by the Jove road and the humanization of Avenida Príncipe de Asturias to become a pedestrian and cyclist axis, fulfilling the commitment he made with the City of Gijón and the Principality of Asturias at the meeting held in March.
Santano, during the meeting held today with the Mayor of Gijón, Carmen Moriyón, the Minister of Development, Local Cooperation and Fire Prevention, Alejandro Calvo and the Delegate of the Government in Asturias, Adriana Lastra, has detailed the project of the Road of Jove on surface that she promised to present after analyzing the different possibilities and considering what is the best option for the city of Gijón, for a more sustainable mobility and the improvement of the day to day of her citizenship.
Faced with the rejection of the proposal made by the Ministry of Transport by the City of Gijón and the Principality of Asturias, the Secretary of State has shown his willingness to study other alternatives taking into account that the new project must begin its processing from the beginning.
Given this situation of refusal on the part of the aforementioned administrations, the Ministry will officially send to both the City of Gijón and the Principality of Asturias the project in which this Department has been working to provide a solution on the surface of access to the port of El Musel for the security problems detected in case of being buried.
The Ministry requests both the City of Gijón and the Principality of Asturias to also officially submit the disagreement with the surface project that is proposed to them from this Department and, where appropriate, the proposal that both administrations contemplate as an alternative.
The Secretary of State said that the Government’s commitment to Asturias is unwavering and that a solution will be sought that benefits the Asturians with the maximum consensus.
During the meeting, the Ministry detailed the project that the Department has been working on and explained the technical characteristics as well as the benefits of this action for Gijón.
The project
For the achievement of this project, the adaptation of the boulevard to the port through the Jove road has been considered as well as the humanization of the Príncipe de Asturias avenue. The objective of this action, as explained by the secretary of
State, is to free the city from the traffic access to the Port that it currently supports as well as the improvement of the accesses to El Puerto de Gijón and ZALIA. It should be remembered that the port currently has good rail access, but road access is insufficient. In addition, the general functionality in the area is improved as the new road of Access to the Port of the Musel includes the humanization of Avenida Príncipe de Asturias and will be complemented by the project of the duplication of the GJ-10 between Lloreda and Veriña and the project.
Another of the objectives of the action is to minimize the impact of the barrier effect generated by a new road infrastructure by separating the areas intended for active mobility from road traffic. The performance contemplates an urban boulevard as access to the port of El Musel through the Jove road, which entails the construction of two two-lane roads each way. In addition, 4,3km of bike lanes and pedestrian paths as well as 5m vegetable barriers as well as spaces intended for active mobility. It also has an area destined for traffic partially depressed with respect to the landscaped areas, four roundabouts connected at level and a railway viaduct and three pedestrian walkways. These actions would have an estimated tender budget of 58 million euros.
Humanization of Avenida Príncipe de Asturias
This action, which has an estimated tender base budget of 3 million euros, has a length of about 2.5 km with new parking areas and extension of sidewalks of up to 3 meters, as well as a bike lane of almost 2 km and spaces intended for active mobility. The project also includes a four-way intersection roundabout as well as the surface rehabilitation of the firm with the use of sound absorbing mixtures that allow a reduction in the sound level of the environment. The lighting will be replaced by LED lighting and new scales and semaphorization.
Santano stressed that it is the Ministry of Transport that is responsible for the renewal of the entire supply and sanitation network of the City of Gijón on Avenida Príncipe de Asturias and its junction with the Jove road, which will entail an investment of 5.5 million euros.
Studied alternatives
The Ministry of Transport has studied several alternatives and based on the conclusions that these studies have yielded, it has opted for the alternative that consists of the crossing of the railway through a new railway viaduct annexed to the current structure that avoids less humanised lower steps, favors the integration of the action in the environment, reduces the impact of the barrier effect generated by a new road infrastructure, in addition to providing greater comfort, comfort and safety for users of the pedestrian path and bike lane, facilitates transversal permeability and incorporation into the track and is the most suitable from an environmental point of view.
Performance benefits
This action favors the future development of El Puerto de Gijón. The road planned by the Ministry depresses the area intended for the transit of motor vehicles with respect to the landscaped areas and areas reserved for the use of pedestrians and cyclists and represents a reinforcement of sustainable mobility and urban functionality. It is important to point out that it means greater comfort, comfort and safety for users of the pedestrian path and bike lane, which gives continuity to the existing bicycle itinerary in Gijón. The solution is extensive, which also allows the passage of special transports, without forgetting the humanization of one of the main avenues of Gijón.
Of particular importance is the renovation of the supply and sanitation network of the City of Gijón in the context of the action.
Santano has assured that the consensus between the City of Gijón, the Principality of Asturias and the Ministry would have made it possible to tender the project throughout 2025.