Delay in A-8 roundabout repaving criticized

Road maintenance is the issue here, but the real argument is about timing. Castro Urdiales has a repaving project for the A-8 access roundabouts at Brazomar and Urdiales, and one local opposition councilor says the town is still waiting while the pavement keeps getting worse. That matters because these are not side streets — they are two of the main gateways into the city. The latest turn is political: Podemos councilor Alberto Martínez has again pressed the Ayuntamiento over why the work has not begun yet. ### What exactly is being delayed? The delayed work is part of the municipality’s “Phase 3” road renewal package. It covers the two southern access roundabouts at Brazomar — the Lolín area — plus the northern access roundabout at Urdiales, along with several nearby streets. The town put the contract out to tender in August 2025 with a budget of €424,785.09 and a planned execution time of four months. (castropuntoradio.es) ### What was supposed to happen there? This was not just a cosmetic resurfacing job. The project included milling and laying a new 6-centimeter wearing course, repainting road markings, and updating vertical signage. In Brazomar, it also included a 1-meter inner ring of paving on one roundabout, replacing a hazardous drainage channel near the CA-250 junction, and adding a raised pedestrian crossing toward Leonardo Rucabado. In Urdiales, the plan included repairing a badly deteriorated curb section. (castropuntoradio.es) ### Was the contract actually awarded? Yes — and that is part of why the criticism has bite. By December 2025, the Ayuntamiento had awarded the works for €369,725.19, below the original tender amount, while keeping the execution period at four months. So this is not a case of a project still stuck at the idea stage. The contracting process moved forward months ago. (castropuntoradio.es) ### Why is Martínez making noise now? Basically, his argument is that the town has known for a long time that these roundabouts are in bad shape, and summer is getting closer. These access points already handle heavy movement because they connect the A-8 with dense urban areas and commercial traffic in Brazomar and the Urdiales side of Castro. When a surface is deteriorated at exactly those entry points, the complaint is not just about comfort — it becomes a safety and image problem. (castropuntoradio.es) The criticism fits a broader Podemos line in Castro, where Martínez has also pushed on A-8 lighting and other infrastructure issues. ### Why do these roundabouts matter so much? Because they concentrate a lot of the town’s everyday friction in one place. Drivers coming off the motorway, residents moving between neighborhoods, and visitors heading toward the seafront or shopping areas all funnel through these junctions. If the pavement is rough, drainage is poor, or markings are tired, the problem gets multiplied by volume. One bad residential street is annoying. A worn motorway access roundabout is a bottleneck. (castropuntoradio.es) ### Is this part of a wider works backlog? It looks that way. Brazomar has already been dealing with other utility and road works, including water-network and sewerage projects that brought traffic diversions, closures, and later resurfacing in adjacent streets. That does not prove why this contract slipped, but it does show how the area has had overlapping public works and a lot of sequencing pressure. (castropuntoradio.es) ### So what is the practical takeaway? The practical story is simple. Castro Urdiales has a funded, awarded project for some of its most visible A-8 access roundabouts, but the work still appears not to have started. Martínez is using that gap to argue that the town is arriving late to an obvious maintenance job. If the paving begins soon, this becomes a short political flare-up. If it does not, it becomes a sharper question about how Castro manages basic infrastructure before the busy season. (castropuntoradio.es) (castropuntoradio.es)