Murcia Rolls Out 23km of Sustainable Asphalt

Spain’s Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility said on May 14 that it was advancing resurfacing work on 23 kilometers of roads in the Murcia region using what it described as sustainable asphalt made with reused materials. The ministry said the project has a budget of 4.27 million euros, including VAT, and is being financed with European Union recovery funds under Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. The work covers stretches of the N-345 and N-342 and forms part of the ministry’s EFAPAVES sustainable pavements program. Officials said the aim is to replace the most deteriorated road layers with a more efficient asphalt mix while cutting waste and emissions tied to road maintenance. ### Which roads in Murcia are being resurfaced? The ministry said 23 kilometers of state roads in Murcia are included in the project, with 7.1 kilometers on the N-345 through La Unión already under way since April. It said 1.91 million euros of the total budget is allocated to the N-345 and 2.36 million euros to the N-342. (transportes.gob.es) La Unión is the first municipality directly affected by the works because the opening phase is taking place between kilometer points 0 and 7.1 on the N-345, according to the ministry. Europa Press, citing the ministry, reported on April 17 that the first phase would begin with a full closure of that road in both directions. (transportes.gob.es) ### What makes this asphalt “sustainable”? The ministry said the project is part of the EFAPAVES program, which is designed to promote a circular economy by reusing recovered asphalt. It said the program also seeks to improve energy efficiency in manufacturing by lowering production temperatures and to reduce hauling of materials and associated transport. (transportes.gob.es) The resurfacing work consists of removing the layers showing the greatest deterioration and replacing them with a new asphalt compound designed under energy-efficiency and circular-economy criteria, according to Europa Press and the ministry. The ministry said those measures contribute to decarbonization and to more sustainable transport infrastructure. (transportes.gob.es) ### How large is the broader program beyond Murcia? The ministry said Murcia is part of a first phase covering 114 kilometers of Spain’s state road network across seven autonomous communities: Castilla y León, Murcia, Galicia, Asturias, La Rioja, Aragón and Cantabria. It described the initiative as a new ministry program using reused and sustainable materials on national roads. (transportes.gob.es) The ministry said similar works had already started in Zamora, Pontevedra, Zaragoza, Ávila and Valladolid. Europa Press separately reported that works had begun in Logroño, Zamora, Pontevedra and Zaragoza, reflecting different snapshots of the rollout at different dates in April and May. ### What disruption has the work caused in La Unión? (transportes.gob.es) The ministry said weather forced the N-345 works to be extended, with traffic restrictions expected to run until the end of May. It said the road would reopen to traffic on May 15, then close on weekdays from May 18 to May 22 and again from May 25 to May 29, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., while remaining open on weekends. (transportes.gob.es) An alternative route has been signposted via the N-332 and the regional roads RM-F43, RM-12 and RM-314, the ministry said. It added that the works were expected to be completed after that final week of closures. ### What happens next on the Murcia project? The ministry said the N-345 phase in La Unión was expected to conclude at the end of May, after which the Murcia resurfacing program would continue on the remaining stretches covered by the 23-kilometer plan. (transportes.gob.es) The next milestones to watch are the completion of the N-345 works and the execution of the 2.36 million-euro allocation for the N-342 under the same EFAPAVES program.