The Spanish road network is gearing up for the start of its busiest periods, as the first weekend of the summer holiday season starts on Friday.
As usual, the busiest periods, and therefore the major traffic operations, are split into three main weekends. The first operation runs from 15:00 on Friday the 1st of July until midnight Sunday the 3rd of July. During this period, there will be an anticipated 4,050,000 long haul journeys on the roads, with the main flow of traffic heading away from inland and city areas to the coast and mountainous regions.
The full timetable of summer operations:
- 1ª Operación verano – Del 1 al 3 de julio
- Operación 1º de agosto – Del 29 de julio al 1 de agosto
- Operación 15 de agosto – Del 12 al 15 de agosto
- Operación Retorno del verano – Del 26 al 28 de agosto
- Plus special operations running on every weekend in between.
This weekend (1ª Operación verano), across the Valencia region, one of the busiest for holidaymakers, there is expected to be 2,150,000 vehicle movements, 1,100,000 in the province of Valencia, 700,000 in Alicante and 350,000 across Castellón.
The busiest times this weekend are anticipated as being from 16:00 to 21:00 on Friday, between 08:00 and 14:00 on Saturday, and from 16:00 to 21:00 on Sunday.
The most problematic areas are the roads leading directly to tourism hotspots, including much of the N-332 in areas such as Santa Pola, El Altet, Altea and Torrevieja.
In order to ease congestion, most major road works will be suspended and there will be restrictions on the movement of certain types of goods. Extra lanes will be created in the busiest areas and the Guardia Civil traffic police will be out in force to ensure the safe flow of vehicles.
In addition, the road network will be supported by helicopters monitoring traffic, and the cameras situated on most roads.
The advice, as always, is to try to avoid the busiest times, allow extra time for your journey, stay calm and adhere to the laws of the road at all times.