The Asturias Mobility Infrastructure Master Plan, designed by the Asturian government, calls for regional government investments in roads totaling nearly 1.5 billion euros for the 2015–2030 period.
The document, which was presented today by the Regional Minister of Public Works, Belén Fernández, and will be made available to the public this week, provides a comprehensive analysis of the various transportation networks and identifies the necessary actions regardless of who owns the infrastructure.
Roads, railways, ports, and airports are the focus of this plan, which also examines the region’s territorial reality, including its socioeconomic characteristics, and provides an assessment and forecast of current and future mobility—both for passengers and freight, according to the Regional Ministry.
From there, it conducts an analysis of the current state of all existing infrastructure—both national and regional—and concludes with proposed actions. These recommendations are proposed in nature for state infrastructure, while they are mandatory for infrastructure under regional jurisdiction, which are included in the 2015–2030 Territorial Road Action Plan.
This document outlines projects on the 470 regional roads, covering more than 4,000 kilometers—nearly 100 percent of the regional network—with an estimated investment of 1,490 million euros. The spending plan is based on a sustained increase in the regional infrastructure budget as the economic recovery progresses.
Among the ten specific measures it recommends, one that stands out is the proposal to improve access to the ports of Gijón and Avilés, including their right banks, and the highway interchanges that converge near Paredes, Robledo, and Roces, including the widening of the AS-17 between Bobes and San Miguel de la Barreda.
The document also outlines improvements to access routes to Oviedo—including train access to the new Huca—and to Avilés from the A-8, as well as a reorganization of the Avilés-Luanco-Candás-Gijón corridor to improve safety.
For the Avilés-Llanera corridor, the plan calls for a third lane at the Y-intersection, the Posada bypass, and improvements to the section of the AS-17 leading to Avilés, including road safety measures. Continue widening the Nalón Corridor at least as far as Sotrondio; and the construction of the El Fito Tunnel to improve the connection between the coast and the interior of the eastern region; these are also included, as is a new road between Soto del Barco and Pravia on the western side. The plan also does not rule out the La Espina-Ponferrada Corridor, which, according to the Regional Ministry of Public Works, could serve as a catalyst for a mining area in crisis and suffering from poor accessibility.
According to the councilwoman, this is «a realistic and sensible plan from an investor’s perspective, focused on social needs and designed to promote economic activity and employment, based on economic, environmental, and
Planned Actions:
- Accessibility to the Ports of Gijón and Avilés, and to ZALIA. These are conceived as three major hubs of regional development, whose competitiveness requires adequate access infrastructure. For ZALIA, the PIMA plan calls for connections via El Montico and La Peñona (the latter is already under construction by the Principality). It also includes connections to El Musel via Jove and via Lloreda-Peñona-Empalme. At the Port of Avilés, in addition to the access route along the left bank, a bypass is planned between Avilés and Zeluán, running along the right bank.
- The intersection of the highways in the central area: A-8, A-66, A-64, and ASII. The areas surrounding these highways near Paredes, Robledo, and Roces experience high traffic volumes and have poorly designed intersections that cause congestion or pose hazards to users. The proposal is to address the situation by adding a third lane at the Y-intersection, improving the interchanges (Robledo and Roces), and completing the intermediate section of the AS-17 widening between Bobes and San Miguel de la Barreda—including its interchange—as this is considered key to establishing a strong road connection in the industrial hub where Langreo, Siero, and Llanera converge.
- Access Roads to Oviedo and the HUCA. A connection (already under construction) from the AS-II to La Corredoria is proposed, which will create a new corridor between the AS-II and the A-66. Other projects—which must be coordinated among the various government agencies and entities, while seeking the broadest possible public consensus—include rail access to HUCA; finding a solution to traffic congestion at the junction between the AS-II and Oviedo’s urban road network; and the access route into the city via the Y highway (A-66a).
- The Avilés-Llanera Corridor, which has heavy traffic volume and significant accident rates due to its connection of industrial areas and the central network of Asturian expressways. Plans for this corridor include adding a third lane at the Y-intersection, the Posada bypass, and improvements to the section of the AS-17 leading to Avilés, including road safety measures.
- Access to Avilés, a city with poor accessibility from the A-8 (the only access route with sufficient capacity is the AI-81), for which the alternative is the N-632—which is currently nearing capacity and needs to be widened between Vegarrozadas and Los Canapés. Also included is the improvement of the AS-237 between Buenavista and the junction with the A-8 at La Ceba.
- The Avilés-Gijón Corridor, passing through Luanco and Candás, is characterized by roads with numerous intersections and access points, which create hazards and impair traffic flow. A reorganization and improvements are proposed for the three affected roads in the regional network (AS-19, AS-110, and AS-238).
- The widening of the Nalón Corridor, which—given the traffic volumes projected for the Plan’s duration—will need to continue at least as far as Sotrondio, in the municipality of San Martín del Rey Aurelio.
- The Eastern Connection between the Coast and the Interior is intended to improve accessibility between the eastern interior, the Cantabrian coastline, and central Asturias, and to bring coastal communities closer to regional-level facilities. It includes projects such as the Fito Tunnel, improvements to the Pontón, and road safety and infrastructure upgrades on the N-634 Lieres–Arriondas, as well as bypasses around the towns of Villamayor and Sevares.
- The Western Connection between the Coast and the Interior, which faces significant accessibility challenges, where gaps in territorial cohesion and balance, the need for social access to regional facilities, problems with winter road conditions, and high accident rates due to heavy traffic call for specific interventions such as the projects in the Navia River basin; between Boal and Grandas; the ESVA corridor; the Palo Tunnel; and a new highway between Soto del Barco and Pravia.
- The La Espina–Ponferrada Corridor. This is necessary to address the long-standing accessibility issues in the southwest and to address the current crisis in the coal mining industry, which is severely affecting this region of Asturias and León. Once the highway to La Espina is completed, this corridor would serve as a catalyst. The project could be complemented by the La Espina–Canero corridor, which is included in the ministry’s plans, extending toward the coast.
