James Warren
THE Ministry of Transport has released traffic figures for the AP-7 and AP-46 Autopista toll roads for 2020 showing its lowest usage since its construction in 1999.
The stretch of highway recorded not only the lowest traffic numbers in 23 years, but also recorded the lowest of all of Spain’s toll roads during the 12 month period of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Between March 2020 and and March 2021, a monthly average of just 21,663 vehicles used the highway, 36.02% less than the previous year.
This figure is even more stark when it is compared to when it was inaugurated in 1999, when just 83km was first opened.
That year, 22,063 vehicles were recorded on average, meaning that 2020 was the lowest figure in the roads history.
By month, April 2020 was the worst hit, with just 5,580 vehicles circulating, a massive 83.5% drop since the same month in 2019.
March, the month when the state of alarm came into play, was also particularly bad, with travel restrictions causing a 46.2% drop since the previous year.
The effects on the AP-7 Autopista del Sol were slightly less staggering but still significant, with 35.14% less traffic than the previous year, and its lowest figure since 2014.
August of 2020 when the restrictions were eased temporarily showed slight improvement, with 16,937 vehicles, 26% less than 2019.
The first two months of 2021 also showed losses in volume, however this can be attributed to the previous start of the year being unaffected by the pandemic.
January 2021 recorded just 7,388 vehicles (-48.8%) and February just 7,905 (-37.2%).
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