The General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) will launch a special device for the Constitution and Immaculate Bridge between 3 p.m. this Tuesday and midnight on Sunday, December 10, a period for which it expects 7.83 millions of road trips.
This forecast represents 17.1% more compared to the actual daily trips on that bridge last year and 10% more if compared to the actual daily trips in 2017, the last year in which the holidays coincided on Wednesdays and Fridays.
To cover all these movements, which will mainly affect roads whose destination is mountain areas for winter sports and other tourist areas of rest and second residence, Traffic has prepared a special operation that includes safety measures. regulation, planning and surveillance that guarantee mobility and fluidity on the roads and, at the same time, ensure road safety.
The operation has the maximum availability of DGT resources, both human (agents from the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard, civil servants from the eight Traffic Management Centers and personnel in charge of maintaining equipment and installing measures). on the road, in addition to emergency services personnel) and materials (780 fixed radars – 92 of them section -, 545 mobile radars, 245 cameras and 15 camouflaged vans to control the use of mobile phones and seat belts).
In addition, the DGT also has helicopters and drones for surveillance from the air, and unmarked vehicles and motorcycles that will circulate on all types of roads in order to verify the correct behavior of drivers.
As the festivities are celebrated on Wednesday and Friday, this will mean that the departure from the large urban centers will take place in two phases. The first and most significant, on Tuesday (between 5 and 10 p.m.) and Wednesday (from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) for the beginning of the long weekend period. And the second, on Thursday (between 6 and 10 p.m.) and Friday the 8th (from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.), for the beginning of the second holiday and the weekend.
For its part, the return will be focused mainly on Sunday, mainly between 4 and 11 p.m. On the rest of the intermediate days, in addition to long-distance trips, there will also be short movements in an alternating exit-entry direction coinciding with holidays.
To promote circulation in the most conflictive areas on each of these six days, the DGT has planned, among other regulation and planning measures, the installation of reversible and additional lanes with cones during the hours of greatest traffic flow and the establishment of alternative itineraries.
Likewise, works on the roads will be paralyzed, the holding of sports events and other events that involve the occupation of the road will be limited, and the circulation of trucks will be restricted, in general, and to those transporting certain goods on certain sections, dates and times. hours.
The DGT foresees 1.6 million long-distance trips on the roads of the Community of Madrid during the upcoming holidays of the Constitution and Immaculate Bridge.
For this reason, a special operation has been launched under the orders of Pere Navarro, general director of Traffic, who explained that the movements will significantly affect the roads whose destination is mountain areas for the practice of winter sports, but also to other tourist rest areas and second homes.
In Catalonia, some 460,000 trips are estimated due to the December long weekend. The Mossos will activate a special traffic device that will have 1,600 checkpoints and 1,700 traffic officers distributed along all roads in Catalan territory. AP-7, C-17 and C-55 will be the arteries with the highest vehicle flow, especially at the height of the Llobregat axis, and Trànsit has taken measures to try to prevent the more than likely traffic jams and delays.
On the AP-7, which is where the largest number of tourists will be concentrated -both north and south-, an additional lane will be enabled from Montornés del Vallès to Hostalric, past the Montseny area.
Restrictions will also be applied to the permitted speed limits in some sectors with a higher rate of possible accidents. In the south direction, from Barcelona to Gelida, the maximum speed will be reduced to 80km/h.
The return operation will also be something to take into account for anyone looking to cross the bridge away from home. 250,000 trips are expected for Sunday the 10th with the sadness of returning to routine, just before the Christmas festivities arrive.
The Special Traffic Operation ‘Immaculate Constitution-2023’ is also activated in Andalusia this Tuesday on Andalusian roads, where more than 1.6 million long-distance trips are expected.
Some of the roads that will support a greater number of trips will be the A-357, the A-4, the A-44 or the A-45, where, from the Traffic Management Centers – based in Malaga and Seville and with 24-hour attention -, a special service will be provided before, during and after each special operation thanks to the more than 60 officials and specialized technical personnel who carry out supervision, regulation and information tasks.
In a statement, the delegate of the Government of Spain in Andalusia, Pedro Fernández, has pointed out the importance of “preparing the trip in advance and ensuring that the vehicle is in good condition, especially in anticipation of rain or frost that could occur.” make driving difficult.”
On the other hand, the DGT has recommended that drivers tune up the car with a check that guarantees that all elements resist the most severe environmental conditions implied by the low temperatures and rains that are expected for these dates: brakes, lighting, tires, etc.
In addition, he recalled that they must avoid distractions, put their cell phone in airplane mode, wear their seat belt and securely anchor minors in their child restraint systems, respect the speed established on the road and adapt it to the conditions of the road. , and do not get behind the wheel if you have ingested alcohol or other drugs.