The rearrangement of lanes to access the ring road, the third lane that passes under Can Blau and the suspension of the Bus-VAO lane are giving good results in terms of traffic flow.

Preliminary studies carried out by the Consell de Mallorca’s Roads technicians show that the works being carried out on the ring road and the airport motorway to reduce traffic jams are working well. Studies, initially, pointed to a minimisation of around 30% of traffic jams over the last few months. The works, which will continue to be carried out over the coming months, have a budget of more than 12 million euros.

The technicians of the Roads Department point to four key actions, which are the ones that demonstrate the success of these works in improving traffic flow. The first is the reorganisation of the access lanes from the motorway to the ring road. Before, one of the lanes was only used to head towards Manacor, which caused traffic jams on the motorway. Now, there are two access lanes and this has eliminated the queues to enter the Via de Cintura.

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The technicians of the Consell de Mallorca corroborate the smooth running of the works on the Via de Cintura and the airport motorway to minimise traffic congestion

The second action that has been described as a success is the third lane that has been created under the Can Blau roundabout. This new road eliminates the funnel effect which meant that under the bridge there were only two lanes, whereas before the entrance and exit, vehicles were distributed over three lanes.

The suspension of the bus-VAO lane is another of the aspects highlighted by the technicians. They explain that, without this lane, slow-moving traffic returns to the right-hand lane, which gives more fluidity to the other two lanes and reduces traffic jams, as vehicles can now be distributed over two lanes to access both the Paseo Marítimo and the Via de Cintura.

Likewise, the fourth lane at the Can Blau exit to So n’Hugo and the Inca motorway is another action that has been proven to be more than necessary to improve traffic flow on the Cintura road, a road considered one of the most saturated in Spain and with peaks of 180,000 vehicles on average per day.

Other actions included in the Palma Access Plan have also helped to improve traffic flow, which drivers can see every day when they drive along the ring road and the airport motorway. This is the case of the zero lanes in the Can Valero industrial estate and the Jesús road, which greatly improve the entrance and exit to the school area, the new exit from the airport to the Llucmajor motorway and the rearrangement of the access from the Andratx motorway to the ring road.

Technical characteristics of the works

The objective is to improve traffic flow for vehicles travelling on the airport motorway (Ma-19) and wishing to access the ring road (Ma-20) in the direction of Andratx. The ring road has an average daily traffic intensity (IMD) of between 140,000 and 180,000 vehicles in various sections. Joining the Ma-20 from the Ma-19 is a two-lane carriageway, of which the one on the right is underused because it does not join the ring road directly, but is diverted towards the Manacor road (Ma-15) via the Can Blau intersection. This causes traffic jams on the airport motorway which gives access to the ring road.

Another objective of the works is to add a lane to the subway at the Can Blau intersection in the direction of Andratx. Therefore, a new lane will be added, resulting in three lanes in the direction of Andratx, just like the rest of the Cintura road. The access to the Palacio de Congresos will also be improved.

The works will be carried out during November so that before Christmas the section of the motorway in the direction of Palma will have four lanes from the Gros torrent to the access junction to the ring road. Taking advantage of the median, a new 800-metre-long lane will be created to improve traffic flow.

Finally, a total reinforcement of the road surface is being carried out on the Cintura road, from the airport motorway to the Valldemossa road junction, i.e., some 6 kilometres. New high-quality asphalt will also be laid on the entrance and exit branches up to the Genova tunnel.