Three years have passed since the last audit by the Asociación Española de la Carretera (AEC), which reiterates the need for state investment.
As a tow truck service, REAC members know perfectly well that the infrastructure needed for road transport, if it receives the necessary investment, helps make their work easier and prevents accidents. It also reduces emissions. Proof of this is the latest study published by the Asociación Española de la Carretera (AEC), which reports a spectacular increase in CO2 emissions: 25 million tonnes in ten years.
On top of that, the State Road Network, which comes under the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, has suffered an enormous cut in investment: no less than 76 %. Also over a decade. The AEC has been denouncing this for years: now with a new report that has studied 3,000 sections of 100 metres each. Three million square metres of road surface across the country.
Vertical traffic signs (3,000), road markings (900 kilometres), metal crash barriers (200 kilometres) and delineation elements (20,000) have been analysed and photographed. The diagnosis is not good: both the state network and the road networks of the Autonomous Communities and Provincial Councils have gone from “acceptable” to “deficient” over the same period.
The average in the Autonomous Communities
As for the weighted average between the value of the state network and the regional networks (in the two-year period 2017-2019), only in Asturias has investment in roads risen, by five points. The other regions have kept investment practically the same, or reduced it. Extremadura is the only region that maintains a level close to acceptable.
The fact is that of the 100,000 kilometres of road surface audited, a total of 10,000 are more than 50 % deteriorated. This affects how vehicles run on the road, since we are talking about cracks, deformations, disintegration…
The work of the association, which has been carrying out these audits since 1985, is very important. It denounces the neglect our roads have suffered after years of shrinking budgets. According to the organisation, state and regional investment of 7,463 million euros could reverse the situation.
Some images from the AEC inspection
Image source: Asociación Española de la Carretera