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Date Published: 28/05/2024

Spain scraps AP7 toll in Alicante after refusing to reduce costs in Andalucia

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The Ministry of Transport has rejected requests to remove motorway tolls on the Costa del Sol despite growing traffic jams

Spain scraps AP7 toll in Alicante after refusing to reduce costs in Andalucia

Tensions are running high in Málaga after Spain’s Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, has stated once and for all that tolls won’t be reduced on the Costa del Sol while the much sought-after coastal train line linking Marbella with the rest of the region is being planned.

To add insult to injury, the minister has just confirmed that his department is looking into scrapping the tolls on the AP-7 road that bypasses Alicante, a decision that seeks to alleviate traffic and reduce accidents on the busy A-70 that circles the city.

However, similar demands in the Costa del Sol have been rejected, despite the fact that the AP-7 in Málaga faces even more issues, servicing around 100,000 vehicles every day and reporting numerous accident black spots.

The Málaga motorway is much longer, stretching 82.7 kilometres to San Pedro Alcántara and its fares are significantly higher, ranging between 5.25 euros and 8.60 euros depending on whether it is low or high season.

On the other hand, the section of road that could soon become toll free in Alicante is just 33 kilometres long and passenger cars pay 1.40 euros.

According to the Ministry of Transport, removing the tolls in Alicante would only be a temporary measure until a third lane is built on the A-70 ring road, a project that is still well in the future given that it will cost in the region of 400 million euros to complete.

In Málaga, the request to make the motorway free centres around easing the monstrous traffic jams while the long-awaited Tren Litoral is being planned, a much more ambitious and expensive initiative.

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