The Catalan Traffic Service (Servei Català de Trànsit – SCT) has announced a series of new restrictions for heavy goods vehicles on the AP-7 motorway, as part of a plan to improve road safety.
Following the removal of tolls on the motorway in September 2021, the traffic service introduced a requirement for lorries over 7.5 tonnes to drive in the right-hand lane and not overtake on Sundays and public holidays.
Now, the service plans to extend this measure to all days of the week on some stretches of the motorway.
The 20 new measures announced include:
- Implementation of variable speed limits on the central section of Mollet to El Papiol and on the C58
- Increase in patrols and surveillance
- Improvement of information to drivers with new electronic panels and variable message signs
- Optimization of the management of incidents to reduce the duration of incidents and congestion
- Installation of additional CCTV cameras to monitor traffic and incidents
- Implementation of new road markings and signalling for better guidance
- Improvement of alternative routes and access to alternative modes of transport such as rail
- Launch of an awareness campaign aimed at professional drivers, promoting road safety
- Adaptation of interchanges, roundabouts and accesses to improve the flow of traffic
- Implementation of new ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) technologies, such as weather and traffic sensors and dynamic traffic management systems
- Improvement of road maintenance and cleaning
This project will be implemented between 2023 and 2025, with an investment of €14.3 million.
“The plan aims to mitigate the effects of the toll road liberation and improve the road safety of one of the country’s main arteries”, said SCT director Joan Ignasi Elena when announcing the new restrictions.
The new restrictions will affect the approximately 15,000 heavy goods vehicles that use the motorway daily.
The Spanish transport union Fenadsimer has criticized the new measures, especially those that oblige HGVs to circulate on the right lane without the possibility of overtaking and at 80 km/hour every day of the year, instead of just Sundays and holidays as previously agreed.
Fenadsimer considers these measures disproportionate and irrational, pointing out that lorries are forced to use the motorway, unlike passenger cars.