As the summer holidays come to an end, traffic in Madrid is picking up again – while the city is also announcing a significant easing of congestion: the new tunnels on the A-5 and beneath the Paseo de la Castellana are scheduled to open to traffic before year-end, according to current plans. The Ayuntamiento de Madrid has reaffirmed this. Both projects are in their final stages, with finishing work and connections still under way.
The city has set the end of December as the target opening date for the A-5 tunnel. November and December had previously been cited as possible timeframes; the latest information confirms the schedule. The tunnel beneath Paseo de la Castellana is also expected to be operational by year-end. This timetable is consistent with recent announcements from the city council and matching reports in regional media.
The city reports improvements already being felt at other bottlenecks: on Calle de Alcalá between Plaza de la Independencia and Cibeles, two lanes closed over the summer reopened on Monday, 31 August. This improves traffic flow around the Puerta de Alcalá. In the Parque Ventas large construction compounds have been dismantled; the next phase, involving green spaces and parks, is now beginning there.
“Work has progressed well, both on the A-5 and at the other summer construction sites,” said Paloma García Romero, the Delegate for Works and Equipment, on Monday. The administration expects disruption to traffic to ease gradually, particularly when schools return in September. At the same time, it warns of occasional closures and diversions in the coming weeks as connection and surface works are carried out.
The projects are part of a reorganisation of major traffic routes to ease bottlenecks and free up space for urban redevelopment. The A-5 underpass is intended to smooth traffic entering the city and relieve junctions towards the M-30 . A tunnel is being built beneath Paseo de la Castellana, above which an integrated urban space will be developed in future.
Not all associated work will proceed without further restrictions: additional night-time work and temporary lane changes remain possible while technical inspections, ventilation and safety tests for the tunnels, and final road markings are pending. The city stresses, however, that the major diversions of recent months will be phased out.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).