The AP-7 presents this Holy Thursday up to 54.5 kilometers of accumulated retention in various sections of the provinces of Barcelona and Tarragona, reports the Catalan Traffic Service (SCT).
Some 112,000 vehicles left Barcelona and surrounding areas this Thursday from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. for the Easter operation, which represents 19% of the forecast of 575,000 vehicles that will leave until 3 p.m. this Friday, as explained by the Servei Català de Trànsit (SCT) in a statement.
At 12 o’clock, in Barcelona there are: in the south direction, 22 kilometers of delays between Gelida and Sant Cugat del Vallès and 4 from Vallgorguina to Sant Celoni, while in the north direction there are 10 kilometers of queues from Montornès del Vallès to Santa Perpètua Mogoda, 8 at the height of Subirats and 4.5 from Granada del Penedès to Vilafranca del Penedès.
On the other hand, in Tarragona there are 6 kilometers of queues between Banyeres del Penedès and Castellet and La Gornal in the south direction, while on the AP-2 there are 6 in the east direction from Montblanc to L’Espluga de Francolí.
During the exit operation that began this Thursday ahead of the Easter holidays, the SCT has enabled two additional lanes on the AP-7 for the first time, as its director, Ramon Lamiel, announced this Wednesday at a press conference. Specifically, one of the two additional lanes is located this Thursday from Montornès del Vallès (Barcelona) to Sils (Girona), to travel to Girona and the Costa Brava.
The other will be enabled this Thursday and this Friday in the south of the same highway, from Martorell (Barcelona) to the AP-2, to travel to Tarragona.
For this Holy Week, Trànsit foresees the departure of 575,000 vehicles from 7 a.m. this Thursday to 3 p.m. on Friday, and they predict that some 590,000 vehicles will return to the Barcelona Metropolitan Area from 12 p.m. on Sunday to 12 a.m. on Monday.
Madrid, Valencia, Zaragoza, Badajoz and also Barcelona registered some retentions yesterday, when the second phase of the exit operation has already begun.
According to the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), the complications in Madrid centered on the A-5 near the Calypo Fado urbanization, very close to the border with Toledo.
In Barcelona, ??on the other hand, they are already registered on the AP-7 near the towns of Barberà del Vallès and Castellbisbal in the direction of Tarragona, as well as on the B-10 and B-20 in the north.
In Zaragoza, slow traffic was centered on the A-68 exit at Venta del Olivar and Monzalbarba; in Valencia on the V-31 in Horno de Alcedo; and in Badajoz on the A-66 in Carrión.
This second phase, which began at three in the afternoon this Wednesday, is the most important in terms of travel volume, since 9.6 million road trips are expected until midnight on Monday, April 1, a holiday in seven autonomous communities (Balearic Islands, Cantabria, Catalonia, Basque Country, La Rioja, Valencian Community and Navarra).