San Pedro de Alcántara - If ever there was a genuine case of third time lucky this is it.  The latest modifications to the San Pedro tunnel project appear to have finally made everyone happy.  The new scheme has the support of the residents’ groups and political parties, as the modifications have been made bearing in mind the objections and suggestions that the interim committee in its day passed on to the Ministry of Development.

With an increase in the final budget of 9.3 million Euros and substantial changes to some parts of the project, which affects six kilometers of road, these changes have now allowed the machines to move in as the final go ahead has been given.  Construction began in October 2007 when the vegetation was cleared left and right of the coastal N-340 road leading through San Pedro. The tunnel itself will stretch for one kilometer and will mean that drivers no longer have to stop at traffic lights at the junction with the Avenida Marqués del Duero or negotiate the El Ingenio roundabout, obstacles that caused daily tailbacks. During peak season it was taken for granted that the traffic congestion would be at its worst around Puerto Banús leading into and out of San Pedro de Alcántara starting in Guadalmina, however, for the time being, the construction progress can be monitored on a daily basis – still with a lot of congestion to deal with, but now there is a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’.

The original 49.8 million euro budget has swollen to almost 60 million although it appears that the changes will not affect the time schedule. The (now acting) Minister of Development, Magdalena Álvarez, previously promised that the work would be complete by the end of 2009.

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