Alex Trelinski
THE LONG process to finish off a major Murcia region road takes another step forward this week.
The RM-1 was meant to connect the Mar Menor tourist area with the A-7 Murcia to Alicante motorway at Santomera, but the money ran out in 2011 at the height of the recession.
The road abruptly ended 12 kilometres short at the orange groves of Los Ramos with 120 kilometre speed limit signs marking the conclusion of construction.
The Ministry of Development is now sifting through compulsory land purchase orders with farmers and residents having until September 29 to make any objections.
Murcia’s director of roads, José Antonio Fernández Lladó, said:
“It is vital to complete the RM-1 to improve links with the Mar Menor and to reduce traffic levels on the A-30 and A-7 highways,”
The completion work is budgeted at €110 million with the money coming from the national government in Madrid.
Murcia officials say that only ten per cent of the sum has been transferred to regional coffers so far.
