The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, has today presided over the commissioning of the new Nudo de Torrelavega, which guarantees the fluidity and safety of the more than 54,000 vehicles that circulate daily at this point between the A-67 and A-8 motorways and where the Ministry has invested more than 160 million euros to improve this link of the State Road Network in Cantabria.
The solution includes the new branch that continues the A-67 between Sierrapando and Barreda independent of the A-8 and the remodeling of the link of Sierrapando, Barreda and Torrelavega. This has involved 30 new structures and 16 extended; a false tunnel covered with more than 200 Olympic pools of material; and a multitude of affected services. All this to improve the safety, comfort and capacity of road service at the point of greatest traffic of the road network in Cantabria.
In essence, “it is 2.5 km of motorway between Sierrapando and Barreda that continue the A-67 without having to enter the A-8 at the height of Torrelavega, as had to be done until now,” the minister said.
This is, according to Óscar Puente, “one of the most emblematic actions of the set of transformative actions that we have been carrying out in this land since we governed. Today we can enjoy, at last, seeing one of the great demands culminated for decades. The modern and effective union of the motorways that cross Cantabria from east to west and from north to south in which we have converted to the knot of Torrelavega”.
(More technical information on the characteristics of the work done in the final part of this press release.)
Other investments of the Ministry in State roads in Cantabria
- A-67 and A-8 motorways
During his speech, the head of Transport has influenced the number of actions that the Ministry is carrying out to improve the state roads in Cantabria.
Among them, he highlighted regarding the A-67 from the node of Torrelavega “we are busy arriving with this third lane to the airport. In June, we sent the project’s public information file to environmental assessment to obtain the DIA with which to finalize the project.” In allusion to the third lane of the A-67 from the link of Barreda to Igollo, where it connects with the S-20 to access Santander.
An intervention in 13 km of about 173 million euros, which also includes remodeling the links of Polanco, Oruña, Boo, Mompía and Igollo; the accesses to the service area in Gornazo and acoustic screens. “An action where the BIM (Building Information Modeling) methodology has been used in a pioneering way, which will allow us to gain efficiency in the use of public resources,” said Puente.
Likewise, he said that “we are prioritizing the analysis of the Castro Urdiales-Bizkaia section to also project a third lane on the A-8”. A section of great geotechnical complexity and environmental value that involves a new document with several solutions for the area of Saltacaballos.
To this end, the Ministry is carrying out a geotechnical campaign of detail and, in parallel, is preparing the environmental impact study that, once completed, “we will be able to submit the preliminary project to public information during the next year,” he said.
- A-73 motorway
As the minister pointed out, progress is also being made on the A-73 between Burgos and Aguilar de Campoo, which will make it possible to shorten the Cantabrian connection with La Meseta. He recalled that “it was a real breakthrough to open in 2021 the Báscones de Valdivia-Pedrosa section of Valdelucio. Now we continue with the drafting of the project that continues from Báscones to link with the A-67 in Aguilar. And we continue to execute the Montorio Quintanaortuño one of more than 108 million euros, next to the one that starts in Burgos”.
- N-621, Hermida Gorge
Regarding the improvements in connectivity in the westernmost area of Cantabria, “after decades of waiting, we have been the government that is really improving the La Hermida gorge. We are doing so with absolute respect to the unique natural enclave where it is located. Thus, they are already 12.6 km conditioned and in service. And we continue to work to have it all finished at the beginning of the year.” In this project, adding the 90 million of the 2nd phase with the almost 8 million of the 1st phase to rectify curves and bridges and the more than 6 million in other performances, the 100 million invested have been exceeded to provide this road with more comfortable and safe driving standards.
Also in the N-621, the Ministry continues its improvement towards León, with the incorporation of the environmental conditions indicated by the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Redo in the project to condition the stretch between Potes and Vada.
- Access to Santander by N-611 and N-623
Óscar Puente recalled the recent award, for 11.4 million euros, of works for the humanization of the access roads to Santander, which will allow the N-611 and N-623 roads to be adapted to the urban environment they cross, promoting safe active mobility, with the bike lane contemplated, and increasing its permeability and functionality.
Commitment to railway development in Cantabria
Regarding the railway mode, the minister pointed out the commitment of Transport for its development in Cantabria “doubling the previous average execution”, where “we have mobilized 94% of the Vicinity plan. More than 1.5 billion in actions already executed or in execution, tendering or drafting.”
Specifically, in actions such as the commissioning last year of the new Nueva Montaña roadhouse on the Santander-Reinosa line of Iberian width. Or, at the beginning of this year, the tender in this same line, of the integral renewal of the road between Mataporquera and Torrelavega and the reduction of the travel time in the Santander-Cabezón de la Sal (metric width), by introducing semi-direct trains.
He also said that “in this second half of the year we will reach very important milestones, with the completion of highly expected actions such as the doubling of the track between Muriedas and Santander (Iberian width) or the provisional detour of Torrelavega (metric width)”.
To which is added the tender for the integration of Torrelavega; the integral renovation of the Santander-Cabezón de la Sal line; the office building and the reorganization of the Santander station or the Santander-Oviedo and Santander-Bilbao lines for freight traffic.
All of them, according to the minister, “mean improving the metric width network, reducing the current travel time and making the service we can provide now more infallible.”
On the other hand, he has indicated that “the objective of this Government is to move more goods by train. This led us to persist until we managed to include the port of Santander in the European Basic Network and the Santander-Palencia rail freight section in the Extended Network. In addition, we have agreed with the Government of Cantabria to sign an agreement to finance 50% of the railway terminal in the polygon of the Llano de La Pasiega, in whose draft we are working.
High speed development to Cantabria
As for the work to bring the high railway speed to Cantabria, the minister has highlighted the fact that he has already tendered the platform of all the sections between Palencia and Alar del Rey (Nogales), which means more than 78 km and 415 million euros in execution.
In addition, the drafting of the projects of the base of the track assembly in these sections has just been formalized and its connection with the current line in Nogales is being drafted, to advance its commissioning by about three years, saving 20 minutes of travel.
In parallel, Puente has indicated that the remaining sections are completed until Reinosa, where the drafting of the projects has already been mentioned for more than 19 million euros.
Regarding the Santander-Bilbao line, Puente has stressed that “improving railway connectivity between Cantabria and the Basque Country is a priority of this Government”. In this regard, it has indicated that a new feasibility study is being contemplated by separate sections and by contiguous pairs: Bilbao–Castro, Castro–Laredo and Laredo–Santander. “In addition, we want to focus the Castro station more on the urban core. So, we are already working on the study sheet with this new approach,” he said.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WORKS OF THE KNOT OF TORRELAVEGA
The A-67 motorway, Cantaria-la Meseta, crosses the A-8 motorway, in the Cantabrian Sea, in the vicinity of Torrelavega. However, this knot was not complete, since the A-67 did not have a continuous path and shared more than one kilometer of its path with the A-8.
Thus, the main objective of the action that is put into service has been to give continuity to the A-67 motorway, generating a new route called the continuity branch, reconfiguring the links of Sierrapando and Torrelavega and a new link in Barreda.
The budget of the works amounts to 140.98 million euros, which added to the budget of drafting the project and other technical assistance linked to the works and the estimated cost of expropriations, shows a total investment made of 160.6 million euros.
Technical characteristics
The works are developed in Torrelavega, Sierrapando and Barreda and include the following major performances:
• Remodeling of the link of Torrelavega: This action has expanded the cross-section of the A-67 motorway at the entrance to Torrelavega providing it with two more lanes. With this action, it is possible to increase the capacity of the road of the A-67 motorway coming from Santander and from the entrance to Torrelavega, achieving that the possible congestion of entry to the urban road of Torrelavega affects, to a lesser extent, the traffic, which is generally long-distance, in the direction of the A-8 motorway.
• Remodeling of the link of Sierrapando: The link of Sierrapando serves as a connection between the motorway A-67 “Cantabria – Meseta” and the motorway A-8 “Autovía del Cantábrico”, in an urban environment also giving access to the city of Torrelavega.
It was a trunk type link in which the A-67 motorway ended to continue along the route of the A-8 motorway. To give continuity to the A-67 motorway towards Santander, it has been necessary to modify this link transforming it into a modified clover-type link with collecting routes. The greatest complexity of this action was the remodeling of the link maintaining traffic, this has required the sequence of numerous constructive phases. Seven viaducts have been executed with ci｟｠ ,in addition to the viaduct on the new branch of continuity.
• Continuity branch: It is a section of motorway of new route that allows to connect the link of Sierrapando with the section of A-67 Torrelavega – Santander, giving continuity to the route of the motorway and avoiding that traffic has to be diverted to the motorway A-8 through the links of Torrelavega and Sierrapando previously described.
The new route, about 2.5 km long, departs from the Sierrapando link and crosses under the current structures of the motorway roads, runs through the valley of the Cabo River between the rustic areas of La Hilera and Las Rozas, leaving to the west the hill of San Bartolomé, following approximately the border between the municipalities of Torrelavega and Polanco and the route of the autonomous road CA-330 and the route of the railway line Sierrapando – Solvay. Due to the orography of the area, a viaduct of approximately 270 m in length and an artificial tunnel, Las Rozas tunnel, of 422 m in length have been executed.
• New link of Barreda: In order to connect the branch of continuity with the A-67 motorway between Santander and Torrelavega it has been necessary to build a new link in Barreda. In it the roads are crossed in a deviant way. To this end, a structure has been built with a post-tensioned reinforced concrete slab board of ten vanes and a length of 210 meters, where the supports of four central vanes are materialized by porticoes that allow the passage of the lower road.
• Third lane Barreda - Polanco: In addition, the three lanes per lane are extended to the Polanco link.
Other performances
This third lane on the A-67 from the Polanco link will continue until the fork of Igollo de Camargo with the capacity expansion works currently in execution between Polanco and Santander, with a current construction budget of 173 million euros. It should also be remembered that in 2022 the new branch of direct access to the port of Santander was put into service from the A-67, after investing 26 million euros, which improved terrestrial-port accessibility and intermodality, giving the port greater competitiveness.
The improvement of the CER in this environment will be complemented by the actions included in the project of Improvement of capacity of the A-67 and S-10 motorways in the Santander-Airport section, currently being drafted.
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