Pedro Blanco: “The humanization of As Pías Avenue symbolizes the government’s commitment to the urban and social transformation of Ferrol”

The government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, highlighted today that “the humanization of the avenue of As Pías symbolizes the government’s commitment to the urban and social transformation of Ferrol”. It did so during the inauguration of the last section of the works, a performance executed by the Ministry of Transport with an investment of 11.5 million euros of the Recovery Plan.

With the completion of this infrastructure “we say loud and clear that the Government of Spain has Ferrol”, said the delegate, adding that this work “connects neighborhoods, people and opportunities”.

During the event, he recognized the technical challenges that had to be overcome and stressed that “when there is will, coordination and commitment, the results arrive. Today it is already a reality: at the service of the people.” He was accompanied by the mayor, José Manuel Rey Varela; the president of the Provincial Council of A Coruña, Valentín González Formoso; the deputy delegate in the province, María Rivas, and the delegate of the Xunta, Martina Aneiros.

“It is the beginning of the city of Ferrol that we want to build with the help of the ferrolanos and ferrolanas,” explained the delegate, after recalling that the Government allocated more than 5,000 M€, “making it the city with the greatest investment in Galicia.” In this sense, he stressed that “the Government of Pedro Sánchez reaches every corner of Galicia”, to cities and neighborhoods, to small things and to large projects such as As Pías.

He also attributed in value the work of the City of Ferrol, the Subdelegation of the Government in the province and the staff of the Road Demarcation, as well as the patience and understanding of the neighbors during the development of the work.

The execution of the works

The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility completed today, with the implementation of the last planned section, the works to improve mobility on Avenida de las Pías (FE-14) in Ferrol (A Coruña), which transformed the configuration of this road to adapt it to the transit of pedestrians and bicycles, calm road traffic and limit the impact of the road in the surrounding residential areas. In total, 11.5 million euros were invested (VAT included).

The new refurbished track was put into service sequentially, as the different sections of the performance were completed. On March 11, the first remodeled stretch was opened, between the Plaza de la Porta Nova and the Avenida de Esteiro roundabout (at the intersection with the FE-11); a month later the second stretch was opened, between the FE-11 and the new roundabout of Caranza; and, finally, today the final stretch was put into service, between the roundabout of Caranza and km 1.1 of the road.

Performance characteristics

The action focused on the objectives of improving urban permeability and accessibility to adjacent neighborhoods, which had to be accessed through links with crossings at different levels; ordering pedestrian and road traffic with improvements in road safety; and achieving greater urban integration with new car parks, green areas, lighting, traffic lights and urban furniture, as well as cycling and pedestrian itineraries. To this end, 7.2 km of new pedestrian itineraries and 1.4 km of cycle paths were created and the road was provided with 37,000 m2 of green areas with new lighting, traffic lights and urban furniture.

In addition, three crosses of the FE-14 were built with Calle Nueva de Caranza, Estrada de la Trinchera/Avenida de Esteiro (FE-11) and Avenida del Marqués de Santa Cruz.

In addition, 360 new parking spaces were installed, 19 of them for persons with reduced mobility, and several parallel (Uxío Nuevo Neyra, Rúa La and Lepanto Street) and transversal (Avenida de Esteiro and Avenida del Marqués de Santa Cruz) vials were conditioned to the FE-14.

As an added value to the performance and to give uniformity to the crossing, a stretch of firm FE-14 was improved, adjacent to the remodeled stretch, with a length of 1.6 km to or west of the Ponte de las Pías.

The work was carried out with maximum environmental respect, favoring the circular economy with the use of pre-existing material, within the stretch itself, reducing external contributions. The remodeled section will be ceded to the City of Ferrol in accordance with the provisions of the regulations that establish the framework for the transfer of urban roads from the State Road Network to the municipalities.

This action was financed with the European funds Next Generation EU within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), within the program of humanization of crossings to promote a more sustainable, inclusive and accessible urban environment. The action, in addition, is in line with the State Strategy for Bicycles led by this Ministry.